A scuffle erupted between transport drivers and Mayor Mohammad Hanif flyover authorities following bargaining over toll collection, a day after the inauguration of the flyover.
Around 11am, the two parties engaged in arguments that eventually led to an hour-long suspension of vehicular movement on the flyover.
The drivers raised allegations that the authorities were collecting tolls at a higher rate than the rate mentioned in the chart prepared by the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).
Though vehicular movement resumed around 12pm, collection of tolls will remain suspended until the authorised company makes a decision regarding the toll, police sources said.
When contacted, Tapan Chandra Saha, officer-in-charge of Wari police station, said the scuffle resulted in traffic congestion in the area that compelled the flyover authorities to release vehicles without collecting any toll.
Initially, two entrances- one in Jatrabari and the other in Gulistan- were opened to traffic on Thursday after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the 11.8km long flyover in the afternoon. She paid a Tk50 toll to use the flyover.
The entire area is under CCTV surveillance, with Orion Infrastructure Ltd in charge of supervising the operations of the flyover.
According to DSCC, the toll collection rate for a single trip over the flyover is Tk150 for a six-wheeler truck, Tk200 for a trailer, Tk100 for a four-wheeler truck, Tk150 for a bus, Tk100 for a minibus, Tk75 for a pickup van, Tk50 for a microbus, Tk40 for a jeep, Tk35 for a car, Tk10 for an auto-rickshaw and Tk5 for a motorbike.
However, drivers and locals alleged that staff from Orion Infrastructure Ltd on Saturday were charging Tk260 for six-wheeler trucks, Tk173 for four-wheeler trucks, Tk375 for trailers,Tk260 for buses, Tk173 for minibuses, Tk130 for pickup vans, Tk85 for microbuses, Tk70 for jeeps, Tk60 for cars, Tk18 for auto-rickshaws and Tk10 for motorbikes.
Mosharraf Hossain, a bus driver, said they had to protest since the flyover staff members were charging additional money from vehicle drivers in the name of tolls.
Jahid Hossain, the owner of a tea stall near the Gulistan toll plaza, said most of the vehicles avoided riding on the flyover and took the streets underneath as traffic congestion occurred on the flyover because of the poor management of the flyover authorities.
Seeking anonymity, an official from Orion Infrastructure Ltd told the Dhaka Tribune that they had collected tolls as per orders from the higher officials.
The process took a little longer as they were doing it for the first time, he added.
No high-ranking officials from Orion Infrastructure Ltd visited the spot today after the incident.
Ashiqur Rahman, project director of the Mayor Hanif Flyover could not be reached on his mobile phone despite repeated attempts to contact him.
When contacted, Ansar Ali Khan, Chief Executive Officer of DSCC, said he had learnt about the incident that took place on Saturday regarding toll collections. He assured that a decision would be made about toll collection after the holding of a meeting today.
If the probe body found that anyone had been collecting extra money, stern action would be taken against them, he said.