It is an all too familiar scene: people literally waiting all night at Kamlapur station in the hope of buying a ticket for their trip home during Eid. But the question is why does it have to be this way? It is hardly news that the demand for tickets will be high during Eid and with the poor conditions of the main highways and ongoing development work, the lines for tickets will be longer. The logical strategy of the railway authorities would be to have more efficient online services and an increase in the number of trains going to various destinations.
It is unacceptable that every Eid the citizens of this country have to experience unnecessary suffering because of a shortage of tickets. Trains are the safest modes of transport in the reality of the shockingly high incidences of road accidents and launch capsizes that lead to a large number of casualties during these festivals. This has been the case for many years now. In fact with the growing urban population due to a high rate of migration, the demand for train tickets is bound to rise. There is no reason why the authorities cannot foresee the impending crisis during the two Eids and make preparations for it.
The report has quoted a station manager saying that almost 4,000 additional advance tickets would be added and five special trains would operate three days before Eid. If this does happen it may alleviate some of the pressure but it is unlikely to fully meet the demand. It is high time that the government makes significant investment to increase the capacity of the railway while improving road conditions and better managing river transport to ensure a safe journey during the holidays.
