Dominance of brokers and their faulty deals at Habiganj passport office has reached an extreme level, causing enormous suffering to those intending to travel abroad and are in need of passports.
According to sources, there is a strong syndicate among the workers of the passport office and some outside brokers. The passport officials are receiving a heavy sum of money through this syndicate.
Sources say, there are passport brokers in about 12 travel services across the city – some exposed, some hidden.
The syndicate is regulating a business of passports under the mask of travels business. Each month, the passport office receives about Tk1.5lakh from each of these travel offices.
By this calculation, the officials at the passport office are receiving more than Tk20lakh per month from these travel agencies.
Namely, Faruk and Helal, computer operators at the passport office, along with an Ansar member are working in a corrupt group to control this syndicate of brokers. There are complaints that Faruk brings in about Tk50lakh per week from the travel agencies.
According to sources, the consignment for a regular passport is Tk3,000 and for emergency passport is Tk6,000 at Sonali Bank.
After depositing the money in the bank, when a passport customer goes to the passport office to submit their papers, they become subject to exploitation by several corrupt workers who send them to the brokers.
Some of the more cautious individuals who fill up the forms without help of brokers, are subject to much suffering and complications regardless.
At the same time, villagers who intend to go abroad are often in need of assistance with such matters. They thus seek help from the brokers, who heavily abuse this opportunity. The brokers are charging Tk6,000 for the Tk3,000 package and Tk9,000 for the Tk6,000 package.
A large portion of this money then goes to the passport office and District Special Branch.
Khokon Miah, who came from Jalalbad village in Habiganj main upazila to get his passport, said: “I have received my visa for Oman a while back. I have paid a broker Tk9,00 for an emergency passport and still haven’t received it. He is leading me on.”
Another passport customer, Shahidul, who came from Ajmeriganj, told this correspondent: “The brokers have taken Tk9,000 from me for the passport to be issued in one week, but I’m not getting it on time. This is affecting my visa application.”
Nurul Huda, the Assistant Director at the regional passport office of Habiganj, has said if individuals at the passport office are involved in such corruption, necessary measures will be taken against them. He, however, claims that the passport office has gotten rid of brokers since he joined in February last year.
