A local influential group in Shibchar has been accused of running raffles at a trade fair with the intention of bilking people out of a staggering sum of money.
Locals alleged that the organisers were working in collusion with the local authorities, and set a target to make Tk400 crore from raffles.
Raffle tickets, each costing Tk20, are sold every day at Shibchar municipal trade fair, which began on December 28 last year.
It is the poor and insolvent locals who enthusiastically buy raffle tickets, leading to a sale of Tk20 lakh every day but only prizes worth Tk2-3 lakh are distributed. The rest of the money goes to the organisers of the fair and the raffles.
The residents of Charjanazat and Bakhrerkandi in the upazila have recently received Tk400 crore in compensation for acquisition of lands for Padma bridge project, and raffle organisers were said to have planned to pocket the money.
Madaripur district administration granted permission for holding the month-long fair at Shibchar housing project which was supposed to end on January 28. But the fair is still running, with raffles arranged regularly.
The fair was officially organised by Shibchar municipality but locals claimed that an influential group and the municipality unit of Awami League ran the show.
Abdul Alim, who works at a food shop at Kawrakandi terminal, said he bought a good number of tickets every day with the hope of winning prizes but had not yet won one.
“The prizes are attractive and include cash, motorcycle and easy bike. Thousands of people buy tickets every day,” he added.
Dadan Mia, a day labourer, said he bought some 40-50 tickets every day but got no prize.
“I spend as much as Tk1,000 on raffle tickets every day, and also had to borrow from my relatives to pay for those,” he said.
Prizes are announced for two hours, starting from 10pm every day, and the announcement is aired on the local cable channel. Mayor of Shibchar municipality Abdul Latif Mollah said the fair and the raffle were a source of entertainment for the locals.
“The municipality will get the money earned in the fair, which will then be spent on development projects,” he said.
Raffle organiser Fazlul Haque Jewel said such competitions had been organised not only in Madaripur but also in other districts.
He said the deputy commissioner had permitted to organise the raffles and locals were assisting in it.
“This is an initiative of the municipality, which is why it is named municipality trade fair. A major portion of the money earned in the fair will be spent on municipality development projects.
“Besides, no one is being forced to buy raffle tickets. Only those interested in it are coming to the fair to collect tickets,” he added. Shibchar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Iqbal Hussain said the fair was run under the permission of the deputy commissioner.
“The deputy commissioner also knows about raffles. I received no official letter in this regard,” he said.
Madaripur Police Super Khandakar Faridul Islam said police had not permitted raffles, liquor and indecent dance sessions at the fair.
“Our permission only entailed the security issues of the venue. The local authorities will take action if raffles are run,” he added.
Madaripur Deputy Commissioner GSM Jafarullah refused to talk about raffles.
