It is normal for Dhaka to feel slightly deserted the day after Eid. This year, however, Dhaka looks even emptier after Eid as more people have left the capital than in the past two years due to the ebbing of the coronavirus pandemic.
As pandemic restrictions were lifted, homebound Eid travellers began to leave Dhaka on Apr 28.
On Wednesday, the day after Eid, Dhaka’s streets were full of rickshaws, auto-rickshaws and buses, but there were hardly any passengers. Bus helpers were beckoning the few people on the road to try and get customers, reports bdnews24.com.
Busy thoroughfares in the city, including Rampura, Mouchak, Malibagh, Kakrail, Bijoynagar, Topkhana Road, Paltan, Fakirapul, and Shahjahanpur did not have any of their usual congestion. Traffic police were relaxed.
Autorickshaws were waiting at different intersections for passengers. Five were lined up at Malibagh intersection. A few of the drivers - Rahmatullah, Abdul Rahman and Ripon said they hardly had any customers. They had started work in the morning and had yet to pick up a single passenger, even as the day wore on.
But the drivers expected to pick up a ‘handsome income’ this evening as people head out.
Rickshaws are banned on the major roads in Dhaka, but they rule the small roads and alleys. But, as of 10 am, only a few rickshaws could be seen in the alleys. Many rickshaw pullers were taking naps due to the lack of customers.
A large number of Dhaka’s rickshaw pullers came to the city from other districts in search of work. Many of them return to their village homes to spend the Eid holidays with their dear ones.
“Most of the rickshaw pullers in Dhaka are from Rangpur, Gaibandha, Bogura, Jamalpur, and Mymensingh and they have gone home. That’s why you see very few rickshaws on the street,” said rickshaw puller Momin Mia.
Many of them will be back by Thursday, he said.
CNG-run auto-rickshaws, buses and other transports were running, but the number of passengers had dropped.
During the Eid holidays, Dhaka is also a calm and peaceful place for those pedestrians who usually dread crossing the road.
“Dhaka has so many cars and other vehicles running on the streets that it feels dangerous to cross,” said Rafiqul Islam, a septuagenarian on the street in Shantinagar. “But, as it is the day after Eid, there is little traffic and I was able to cross easily. I was astonished to see such a clear road.”
The elderly Dhaka resident wished he could see the similar conditions on the road at times other than Eid.
As the day rolled on, some passengers were seen taking buses bound for Gazipur or Uttara. Many people used public transport to visit friends and relatives.
Abdur Rahim was waiting for an Uttara bound bus with his family.
Usually, the buses are jam-packed with passengers and they are unable to use them, he said.
“But they will be quite empty during the Eid holidays and the fare will be less than the CNG run auto-rickshaws and so we chose to take the bus.”
“For middle-class people like us, it is impossible to afford a CNG auto-rickshaw,” he said.
Sabiha Khatun, a health worker at a private hospital said it took only 10 minutes for her to reach workplace in Mohakhali from her home in Kafrul in her office car.
“I wish Dhaka could stay like this throughout the year. We would love it. We always leave home in a timely manner in the office car, but we never reach work on time because of the congestion. I also feel the plight of those who travel on public transport,” said Sabiha.
Dhaka will not be empty for long, said Rahim Mollah, who was standing at Fakirapul Bazar.
“We can only experience this deserted Dhaka today and tomorrow. Then Dhaka will, once again, show its true colours,” a frustrated Rahim said.
The number of ride-sharing motorcycles also dropped on the day after Eid. The Malibagh and Kakrail intersections usually have 10 to 12 such bikes waiting for passengers. On Wednesday, there were only two to three.
One of the motorcycle drivers said most of them have returned to their village home during the Eid holidays, pushing down the number of cycles on the road.
The traders who put up makeshift shops on the pavements have also left for the holiday. The hawker stalls on the pavement in the Paltan intersection were covered by polythene sheets.
PONTOONS BUSY ON DAY AFTER EID
Mohammad Faisal, 14, was heading to Shariatpur’s Naria and stood on a crowded pontoon at the Sadarghat river port to board a launch on Wednesday, a day after Eid. The teen works at a sweetmeat shop in Dhaka’s Farmgate area.
Asked why he was leaving Dhaka a day after Eid, a dismal expression passed over his face: “We didn’t get a holiday. The owner has six employees, but he didn’t give any of them time off for Eid.”
A middle-aged woman was sitting on pontoon-8. Asked why she had waited until the day after Eid for her trip, she smiled and said she was worried about the rush. “There’s still a large crowd today.”
Large crowds had turned out for the Chandpur and Shariatpur routes as of Wednesday morning. There was a crowd on Bhola’s Ilisha route as well. The pontoons were doing good business well into the afternoon.
Like Faisal, many are headed for the launches that will take them to their ancestral homes.
Siddiqur Rahman, a director of transport for the BIWTA, said such crowds are often seen on Eid day and the day after. In fact, the rush is severe on the day after Eid.
Usually, larger crowds build up on the Chandpur, Shariatpur, Muladi, Charfashion, Hatia, and Bhola’s Ilisha routes. More passengers head south to Barishal in the late afternoon, he said.
Md Humayun, another director of transport for the BIWTA, said 38 launches had set off from the Sadarghat terminal as of midday on Wednesday.
Eighty-six launches left the Sadarghat on Tuesday.
Special security measures are in place for the five days before and five days after Eid, said Mizanur Rahman, chief of Kotwali Police Station.
