The Bangabandhu Bridge authorities have collected over Tk 21 million in tolls in the 24 hours to Tuesday morning ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday, almost twice the amount of the usual tolls.

The toll collection on the bridge usually is between Tk 10 million and Tk 15 million, said Ahsanul Kabir Pavel, executive engineer of the site office of Bangladesh Bridge Authority.

He said traffic is mounting on the Dhaka-Tangail-Bangabandhu Bridge highway ahead of Eid.

Between 6am on Monday and 6am on Tuesday, 22,485 vehicles crossed the bridge, paying tolls of nearly Tk 21 million, according to him.

As many as 11,558 vehicles crossed the East Tangail-Bangabandhu Bridge section, generating revenue of about Tk 10.32 million in tolls.

On the other hand, the West Sirajganj section of the bridge had 10,927 vehicles crossing over, resulting in a toll collection of Tk 10.66 million.

To minimise the suffering of the homebound people, nine booths are operational in the Sirajganj section and 11 booths in the Tangail section, he said.