The Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh (PWAB) has demanded a rescheduling of the announced public holidays to ensure comfortable Eid-ul-Azha travel for passengers. They have called for shifting the public holidays of June 11 and 12 to June 3 and 4.
The association made this demand at a press conference held on Tuesday at the Sagar-Runi Auditorium of the Dhaka Reporters Unity.
At the press conference, they stated that, although the government has declared a 10-day holiday for Eid-ul-Azha, it will not alleviate passengers’ suffering. If Eid is celebrated on June 7, people will only get two days off before Eid. If Eid falls on June 6, they will get just one day off before the festival. Within this short period, around 1.5 crore people will leave the capital, raising concerns about severe travel hardships during this Eid.
General Secretary of the Passenger Welfare Association Mozammel Haque Chowdhury said, “We demand a rescheduling of the Eid holidays. This is essential for people’s comfort.”
He added that during Eid-ul-Fitr, people could travel comfortably because there were sufficient holidays before Eid. However, for the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha, while there are long holidays after Eid, the maximum holidays before Eid are only two days. Therefore, they propose rescheduling the public holidays of June 11 and 12 to June 3 and 4.
Mozammel Haque Chowdhury mentioned that, although the demand for rescheduling holidays has been raised with responsible government authorities, no response has been received yet.
To ensure hassle-free travel during Eid, the Passenger Welfare Association has placed an 11-point demand before the interim government. The demands include: taking measures to stop unfit and rickety buses and launches from operating, implementing effective steps to prevent overcharging of fares, stopping extortion on roads, taking action against cattle-laden trucks that cause traffic congestion, and increasing surveillance to prevent highway robberies and other crimes.
Other speakers at the press conference included BNP Central Executive Committee’s Marginal Workforce Development Secretary Aporna Roy Das, Finance Secretary of the Passenger Welfare Association Mahmudul Hasan Russell, and member of the Central Executive Committee Rafika Afroze.