Today, I’ll share the story of how we walked all night to return home from a tour.
Date: August 23, 2024
Place: Cox’s Bazar Bus Stand
At around 1:00 PM, my two friends and I got on a bus heading to Mirpur, Dhaka. Soon, more passengers joined, including 13 army members in civilian clothes. They sat near us, and we started talking. Most of them were aged between 19 and 26. I got to know two of them, Ashik and Rubel. They were on leave, going to Dhaka, and then to their villages.
We heard that flooding in Feni had blocked the roads. This made us all worried about how we would reach Dhaka. The bus started moving, and I chatted with Ashik while enjoying the view from the window. By the time we reached Chattogram, it was around 6:30 or 7:00 PM. We got off and had some snacks.
Now we had to decide: should we continue to Dhaka or stay in Chattogram? Most of our money was already spent during the Cox’s Bazar trip, and we only had enough for the bus fare. We decided to return to Dhaka that night, even if it meant walking through deep water. It was already 8:30 PM.
From AK Khan Road, we boarded a local bus after talking with the driver and supervisor, who promised to drop us at a place called Lalpool. The bus started moving again, and I sat beside Ashik. Since I was in the BNCC (Air Wing) during college, I knew a bit about the military, which helped us connect. I asked him many questions about his life in the army, and he kindly answered.
By 11:00 PM, we reached Khaiyara Bazaar. The road ahead was underwater, and the bus couldn’t go further. The water was knee-deep around the bus. We had no choice but to walk.
We prepared by rolling up our pants and packing our shoes in our bags. The further we walked, the deeper the water became. Many houses and shops were completely submerged, and it was sad to see. The internet was down because of the flood, so we couldn’t contact anyone.
After walking for four hours, we reached Lalpool. We rested for a while and started walking again. By dawn, around 4:40 AM, we reached Mohipal. After a short rest and some food, we finally managed to catch a truck that took us back to Dhaka.
That’s all for today.
