Bangladeshi passengers crowd onto a train at Tongi railway station near Dhaka

DHAKA, November 24 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Millions of Bangladeshis were on the move Monday, November 24, as they packed buses, trains and ferries to be with their families and friends to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which is expected to fall on Wednesday, November 26, in the world's third largest Muslim-majority country.

Many commuters started their holiday journeys Sunday, November 23, but a major dash-out of Dhaka is expected when the new moon is sighted on Tuesday, November 25, signaling the holiday that closes the holy fasting month of Ramadan, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

While passengers crowded ferry terminals and train stations, others were ready with hired vehicles to rush out the moment Eid al-Fitr is declared.

"We have to stay on until the last moment as people don't buy things until the last moment," said Mohammad Masud, a shop owner in Dhaka's busy downtown Baitul Mukarram market.

He said he and several friends had arranged a mini-bus that will leave at the close of business on the eve of the holiday.

Most of his friends, he said, had already sent their families away for the festival.

Millions of people in Dhaka alone are estimated to head out of town each year for Eid al-Fitr, as preparations are underway for mass prayers on the festival across Bangladesh.

The travel season can be deadly in Bangladesh, where more than 3,000 people have died in 260 ferry accidents since 1977.

Both the government and the media were keeping a close eye on the ferries this holiday season.

Authorities said they had strictly enforced controls on the overloading of ferries, which is identified as a key reason for the frequent deadly crashes.

But newspapers are holding the government to its word, with the mass-circulation Daily Ittefaq reporting that some ferries were skirting the rules by picking up more passengers midstream.

The Independent daily published a picture Monday of an overloaded ferry on its front-page with the caption saying the vigilance appears to have failed.

Thousands of ferries operate along Bangladesh's 230 rivers and waterways, transporting more than 100,000 people daily.

Security Alert

The government has also tried to boost street safety, sending another 7,000 police to the streets of Dhaka a week ago to stop muggings and other crimes as the festival gains momentum.

President Iajuddin Ahmed and Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who has just returned from an 11-day pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites in Saudi Arabia, issue customary messages of good wishes for Eid al-Fitr.

And newspapers go on a marathon holiday from Tuesday, subject to the sighting of the new moon.

The Bangladesh Newspapers Association said in a statement that newspapers would hit the stands again November 29.

Meanwhile, many Bangladeshis living abroad were sending gifts to relatives and friends through the Internet, a new development as the country enters the computer age.