Sadarghat Returns to Its Usual Look

After the inauguration of the Padma Bridge, the usual Sadarghat was changed. The launches suffered from a lack of passengers. But with Eid-ul-Azha coming forth, the country's largest inland transport terminal has returned to its usual look. Such a picture was seen in Sadarghat on Friday (July 7).

The rush of homebound passengers around, the shouts of the launch crews to pick them up, the rush of passengers to get tickets. Meanwhile, after being empty for the last few days, the smiles returned to the faces of the workers when they saw the launches filling up again. Earlier, the launches were not getting passengers. That drought has finally ended.

As the day progressed on Friday, the pressure on passengers increased at Sadarghat. The launches are leaving Sadarghat with thousands of passengers from the south during the Eid-ul-Azha holiday. The concerned people are hoping that there will be such passenger pressure on the occasion of Eid in the next few days.

Multiple launch ticket counters and concerned people says that the deck is crowded and middle-income people are traveling on deck. The cabins are starting to fill up. Now the passenger pressure is more than before.

There is a special launch service on the Dhaka-Barisal route to handle the pressure of the passengers. In addition to the scheduled trip, Survi-8 left Dhaka for Barisal at 6 am on Friday.

10 luxury launches including Parabat-18, Sundarbans-10, Kirtankhola-10, Sundarbans-12, Manami are waiting to reach Barisal from 6 pm to 10 pm.

A passenger of the Sundarbans-12 launch has taken a cabin for Jhalokati for Tk 1,000. He said it was unthinkable to come to the pier before Eid and get a cabin. It feels good to be able to go safely.

Mohammad Shahid Ullah, joint director of the maritime safety and traffic management department at BIWTA Sadarghat, said more than 150 launches were ready to make it easier for people to return home on Eid. The official said there would be no launch crisis despite pressure from passengers.