All fares for deck passengers were normal at Sadarghat terminal till yesterday on different routes to the southern region, but it will increase from Tk 30 to Tk 50 from November 20, terminal staff said.

Passengers on the southern district routes have already started crowding the Sadarghat terminal to reach home to celebrate Eid with their loved ones.

But passengers who plan to leave the city three to four days before Eid were queuing up at the luxury launch counters to book advance cabin tickets. Many launch operators have sent them back though the passengers were ready to pay more for a single or a double cabin.

It has been alleged that the launch staffs would sell the cabin tickets one or two days before Eid at an exorbitant rate. But the staffs denied such allegation.

Among the luxury launches Parabat, Sagor, Rajdoot and Surovi, Parabat-4 was charging Tk 475 against Tk 250 for a single cabin and Tk 900 against Tk 500 for a double cabin for a one-way trip to Bhandaria though 80 per cent of their cabins have been sold out, Akram, a staff, said.

But staffs of another launch Parabat-7 said advance booking for Barisal till November 25 has been completed. They charged Tk 400 for a single and Tk 700 for a double cabin, they said.

Ticket sellers of Surovi-6 said all the cabin tickets have been booked. They charged Tk 300 for a single and Tk 500 for a double cabin, the staffs claimed.

Several launches of Overseas Gulf Navigation Company titled Sagoor have charged Tk 400 for a single and Tk 1,000 for a double cabin ticket to Patuakhali. The countermen are still selling advance cabin tickets at the terminal.

The rush of passengers increased at the Sadarghat terminal yesterday. Launch operators were still charging normal fare from the passengers, while the rate would be increased from November 20, launch staffs said.

"We are charging a reduced rate of Tk 60 for Barisal but it would soon be Tk 100 to Tk 110 by November 20," said a staff of a launch, adding that they were not following the government fare chart to be competitive.

Yesterday afternoon, most of the launches were found anchored in the midstream and the passengers were seen boarding those on boats.

However, the shipping ministry recently issued a directive to the transport authorities not to charge extra from the passengers prior to the Eid festival. According to sources, a monitoring team would check overloading at the terminal from November 20.

The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has decided to arrange extra launches on 17 routes from November 20 to 30 to reduce the pressure on river transports.

Special launches would run on routes from Dhaka to Bhola, Barisal, Barguna, Chandpur, Ichuli, Madaripur, Kalaiya, Borhanuddin, Patuakhali, Amtali and from Narayanganj to Chandpur-Ichuli, Taltola, Ramchandrapur, Machuakhali, Sureshwar, Torki and Matlab.

The BIWTA would also press into action ro-ro ferry service for transporting homebound passengers during Eid.

Besides, Bangladesh Railway was selling advance tickets since November 16 for Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna and Rajshahi, which would continue till November 20. Passengers collected tickets at Kamlapur Railway Station yesterday.

The Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation, as part of its Eid special service, inaugurated a special Dhaka-Chittagong-Raozan bus service yesterday.