Ahead of the Eid, extortion by local political leaders and police from CNG-run auto-rickshaws on and around the first Buriganga bridge has reached an unbearable state.
CNG-run auto-rickshaws registered in districts around Dhaka city are being charged extra on trips to the capital by extortionists to use the bridge. As these vehicles cannot legally operate inside the capital they have to count extra money to satisfy the traffic police as well.
Round the year, the drivers pay extortionists Tk100-200 weekly and Tk2,000-3,000 monthly.
However, since the first day of Ramadan, they have been paying Tk500 for weekly package and Tk3,000-4,000 monthly.
The extortionists have also introduced a daily package of Tk100 for CNG-run auto-rickshaws. Under the daily package the drivers are given a slip as a "pass" to cross the bridge.
"The CNG-run auto-rickshaws registered in districts surrounding the Dhaka city have no permission to operate on city roads.
Traffic police can lodge cases against these drivers if they are caught," said auto-rickshaw driver.
Golam Faruque, general secretary of the Dhaka District CNG Auto-rickshaw, Auto-tempo and Mishuk Transport Workers Union, said there were about 3,000 CNG-run auto-rickshaws operating between Postagola, Keraniganj, Mawa and Munshiganj, using the first Buriganga bridge. But during the Eid rush, that number has doubled.
"Before Eid, a good number of well-off people, who live in the city suburbs, go to the capital for shopping, trading and other purposes. Most of these people hire auto-rickshaws to Dhaka city. Drivers take them to the city and do not return until late night," he said.
Faruque said his organisation had asked the police, Rapid Action Battalion and the administration to put an end to extortion and illegal toll collections, but it had not worked out. As a result, drivers take risk of plying the city roads illegally.
Another CNG auto-rickshaw driver of a vehicle registered under one of Dhaka's districts said: "I normally keep a budget of at least Tk1,000 for the traffic police in the capital besides the tolls at the Buriganga bridge. If luck favours, no police would stop me in the capital. But otherwise, with that budget I can manage at least three police teams at three different spots."
Saleh Ahmed Chowdhury, an authorised toll collector at the Buriganga bridge, however, said they only collected tolls from vehicles except CNG-run auto-rickshaws.
Meanwhile, South Keraniganj police station Officer-in-Charge Shakawat Hossain said the district vehicles were not allowed to cross the bridge to ply in the capital. He also denied the allegations of extortion on the bridge.
