Desk Report:
The government has taken maximum preparations to ensure safe and smooth travel of passengers on roads, bridges, railways and waterways on the occasion of the upcoming holy Eid-ul-Fitr. To this end, a view-sharing meeting was held at the conference room of the Road Transport and Highways Department on Thursday (March 5, 2026).
It was informed in the meeting that in view of Eid, the repair and renovation work of national highways and important corridors and important roads under the jurisdiction of Dhaka North and South City Corporations will be completed at least 10 days before Eid. To ensure the safety of passengers, necessary CCTVs will be installed at Sadarghat, Mohakhali, Sayedabad, Gabtoli and Fulbaria bus terminals in the capital and these terminals will be connected to the BRTA and police control rooms so that the situation can be monitored centrally.
The meeting decided that the Upazila, District and Metropolitan Road Safety Committees will hold meetings before Eid and take necessary measures to ensure road safety and discipline. At the same time, to stop collecting excess fares and prevent carrying excess passengers, a mobile court will be run by BRTA, police, city corporation, district administration, Roads and Highways Department, Upazila administration and representatives of transport owners and workers’ organizations. In addition, strict steps will be taken to remove temporary and floating markets along the roads and stop passenger transport in goods vehicles.
The meeting also decided that ETC booths will be kept open round the clock to keep the toll plazas free from traffic congestion. In addition, the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) will operate special services on the occasion of Eid. Except for vehicles carrying essential goods, trucks, covered vans and lorries will be banned from the highway for three days before Eid and three days after Eid.
On the occasion of Eid, it has been decided to keep CNG and filling stations open round the clock for seven days before and five days after Eid. In addition, workers of various industries including garments have been urged to take leave in phases so that there is no additional passenger pressure at once.
A central control room will be open for a total of seven days from three days before Eid to three days after Eid to monitor and coordinate the Eid journey. The telephone number of this control room is 16107 and the mobile numbers are 01550051606 and 01550056577.
While exchanging views with journalists after the meeting, Roads and Bridges Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam MP said that all the relevant authorities including the administration, police, transport owners and workers will be more active in managing this Eid journey than ever before. He said that about 15 million people will leave Dhaka on the occasion of Eid, which is a big challenge to manage in a few days. However, efforts will be made to ensure a comfortable Eid journey with maximum capacity.
In response to a question about extortion, the minister said, there is no scope for extortion or excessive fare collection on the roads. If allegations of excessive fare collection beyond the prescribed fare are found, exemplary action will be taken against those concerned. He said that mobile courts will also be run against unfit and defective vehicles.
At the same time, Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, MP, Chief Coordinator of Bangladesh Nationalist Workers’ Party, said that it will be possible to conduct this year’s Eid journey in a more orderly manner by utilizing past experience with the coordinated efforts of the administration, transport owners-workers, journalists and police. He expressed hope that this year’s Eid journey will be safe and smooth by ensuring the safety of passengers, preventing excessive fare collection, ensuring the safety of women passengers and taking strict measures against extortion.
State Minister in charge of the Ministry of Railways and Road Transport and Highways Habibur Rashid, MP, and State Minister in charge of the Ministry of Shipping and Bridges Md. Rajib Ahsan, MP, were present as special guests in the meeting. In addition, senior officials of government and private organizations, representatives of transport owners’ associations and labor organizations, and journalists from print and electronic media were present.
