Some have alleged that laguna owners have secured permission from the authorities concerned—to re-launch services in Dhaka—by paying more extortion money, known as chanda.
Many passengers have complained that drivers of lagunas—a type of light public transport—are overcharging them, to pay for the increased amount of extortion money.
Meanwhile, several drivers claimed that laguna services were shut down to increase the amount extortion money, and the fares went up after re-deploying the lagunas to compensate for the sudden increase.
According to sources, police, transportation owners, and local political leaders have reached an agreement to redeploy lagunas in Dhaka.
On September 4 last year, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia announced the shutdown of lagunas operating across the capital on different routes.
However, despite the ban, lagunas can be found operating at almost every corner of Dhaka, the correspondent has learned by speaking to different transport owners, drivers, and linemen.
Lagunas were found operating on all major routes, including: Jhigatola, Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur, Shyamoli, Agargaon, Farmgate, Motijheel, Gulistan, Tejgaon, and Badda.
‘Lengthy negotiation’
On March 9, the correspondent spoke with a number of laguna drivers, who operate on the Jhigatola-Farmgate route.
A driver, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The laguna shutdown lasted almost a month. Transport owners and leaders became engaged in a lengthy negotiation with the police.
“The police finally gave us permission, but they hiked up the extortion money. They used to collect around Tk550 per laguna each day, except on Fridays and Saturdays. However, now they are collecting Tk900 on weekdays and Tk500 on weekends.”
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He furthered: “Linemen collect the money from us. We have heard rumours that the money gets sent to the police. We never pay money directly to the police. I believe the authorities shut down laguna services for the sole purpose of hiking up extortion money.”
The correspondent, posing as a regular passenger, asked the driver for more details. However, the driver declined to comment further on the issue.
Another driver, Salah Uddin echoed the same opinion, saying: “Fares have gone up recently, but the number of passengers has increased too.”
The shutdown of laguna services has caused immense suffering for the passengers over the past month. However, the owners and drivers said they must operate within the regulations set by transport organizations and the police.
Golap, a laguna driver operating on the Farmgate-60 Feet route, said: “We rent lagunas on a day-to-day basis. We pay the owner around Tk1,200, and linemen around Tk500. We split the rest among the transport staff.”
‘Fairs did not increase’
Speaking to the correspondent on March 15, a lineman named Nurul Islam said: “I watch over the lagunas, and stop them from parking in the wrong places. I get paid Tk400 per day.
“I collect money from laguna owners or drivers operating on the Farmgate route. The collected money is then split up and distributed. I do not know where the money goes. But, the collected money is sent to three police stations.”
Responding to a query, transport leader Chunnu Mia said: “Lagunas can operate on the streets of Dhaka without having to pay anyone. This is a falsehood spread by new drivers.”
However, Chunnu admitted that he collects money from a laguna driver, cover operating costs.
“There are some costs involved with the line. I do not pay the cost out of my own pocket; I collect it from the laguna drivers or owners. The fair did not increase.” he said.
However, the correspondent has learned that laguna fare has increased by Tk2 to Tk5 depending on the route in Dhaka.
Laguna routes
There are around 5,156 registered human haulers, or lagunas, operating in Dhaka, and they are operating across the capital on 65 designated routes.
The Bangladesh Light Vehicle Owners Association controls 63 of the 65 routes. However, the total number of laguna routes in Dhaka is larger.
What do the police say?
When reached for comment, several DMP traffic officials said lagunas are still banned from operating in several areas of Dhaka, and the matter is currently under discussion.
DMP Joint Commissioner (South) Mofiz Uddin Ahmed confirmed that an effort is underway to reallocate light vehicle routes in Dhaka.
“We cannot shut these light vehicles down without a proper alternative, as it will cause serious trouble for the people,” he added.
Firmly denying the allegations involving extortion money, the DMP official said: “We have received no such complaints. These are just baseless allegations.”
