Sorry Mr Minister, but we are worried. We are not so worried about the emerging story of high officials of Biman being associated with smuggling, and their involvement in the heinous racket. We are more troubled by your comment that there is nothing to worry about.
We recall how our finance minister rubbished the theft of nearly Tk4,000cr from a national bank by the Hall-mark group as “not much of an amount for a bank.” We are worried when people with the ultimate responsibility brush aside these robberies, as if they are nothing to worry about.
Biman is our national flag carrier. It is called our “home in the air,” for the comfort and affection it supposedly provides to the travelling passengers. Biman flies globally. It reaches many destinations and cultures around the world, and that should have made us proud.
However, the airline, which is supposed to be transporting people and their belongings to places, has been ferrying smuggled goods for years. The criminal gang from the ground to the air has made the institution a den of thieves, smugglers, and snatchers.
The national flag carrier was expected to rise up and set an example of high-quality flying and hospitality. It should have been a forceful revenue-earning apparatus by now. The industry should have been a robust establishment of comfort, honesty, and reliability. Instead, it went on either crashing, or crash landing, for ages. The fractured institution is only a national shame now.
See the corrupt officials standing before the nation, with their darkened backdrop. The luxurious buildings in posh areas of the city and property in other parts of the country, expensive cars, etc speak for themselves – oh, the illegal wealth of these corrupt individuals!
The pertinent question is: How could they build such personal empires and acquire the luxuries with the pay that they get as their wages and perks? There are no answers. The natural reaction of the persons caught is to claim they are victims of conspiracy. They put the blame on others. They pretend to be innocent. What mockery!
Parliament members and ministers have vented their feelings of disgust over the case. One minister informed the house that three ministers have changed seats in the ministry, but the Biman chairman remains safely fastened to his seat. Nobody dares to challenge him. What a shame!
When I met the then concerned minister in 2011 at his residence, he also lamented over his inability to do anything about corruption in Biman.
It is nothing new that Biman has been turned into an organisation of money-minting and a source of quick bucks by way of unabated illegal trading and smuggling. The officials involved have made things so easy, that they call the shots at every point – from making schedules for the flying staff to planting people on the ground.
With dozens of law enforcing agencies employed at the airport terminal, the unlawful operations go on willfully. Think of the revenue we lose and the amount the gang makes using our national carrier.
Detective agencies report that more than 60 people belonging to Biman and Civil Aviation Authority Bangladesh (CAAB) are directly involved in the smuggling racket. Passengers are subjected to continuous harassment, and reports of lost baggage and theft have become old news.
Where do we go from here? Corrupt persons have been caught and taken into custody. Investigations are underway. The courts will decide their fate. Will we see the entire episode disappear into thin air?
The government ought to think hard this time. Every now and then, the government gets the opportunity to fine-tune a corrupted organisation. But somehow, things don’t work out, or are neutralised somewhere along the line. If the minister is to be trusted, the cleansing operation should not be tough. If only a few are corrupt, then why should the majority of the staff experience the bad name?
Why are the proven villains allowed to roam free? We want the minister to come up with a clear plan on how to handle the situation, not only for the current happenings, but also for the overall revamping of Biman. The chairman needs to explain how and why these illicit acts go on without any measures being taken.
All the concerned departments of the airline should be forced to make their positions clear. The government should make the responsible people answer. Why should the taxpayers pay for this? Why should we go on allowing these colossal losses?
