Will transport extortion ever end?
We are alarmed by the findings of a government probe on extortion in Dhaka's transport terminals and stands. The investigation, conducted by an intelligence agency after the ouster of the Awami League government, found the involvement of influential figures including some linked to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in this exploitative practice. Not only is this unacceptable, but the fact that even the fall of an autocratic regime through a violent mass uprising could do nothing to reverse this trend in the transport sector is deeply concerning.
According to the probe report, a staggering Tk 2.21 crore is extorted daily from 53 transport terminals and stands in the capital city. Over a month, this amounts to Tk 66.3 crore to even Tk 80 crore. The system established by Awami League leaders and allies during the party's 15-and-a-half-year rule has simply been taken over by leaders and activists of BNP and its affiliated organisations. Of the daily extortion earnings, Tk 1.17 crore is collected under the name of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners' Association, currently headed by Saiful Islam, convener of BNP's Cumilla (north) unit. All this money is reportedly being extorted as "fees" for city corporations, terminal authorities, "expenditure" of counters and terminals, and payments for workers, linemen, cleaners, and security guards, the intelligence agency has found. Long- and medium-haul buses, trucks, pickups, covered vans, microbuses, private cars, human hauliers, CNG-run autorickshaws, and even rickshaws are being charged these "fees."
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It is no secret that extortion has plagued our transport sector for decades. Its extent and sphere of influence can be understood from a study—unveiled by the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) in March last year—that revealed that private buses and minibuses pay at least Tk 1,059 crore in illegal tolls and bribes every year. Unfortunately, following the Awami League government's fall, we saw how BNP-affiliated transport leaders took over the sector, seemingly to get their hands on the extortion money, thus perpetuating this unscrupulous practice.
This status quo must be broken. As Bangladesh moves forward with key reform initiatives to establish discipline and accountability in various sectors, the transport sector cannot be left to rot under this age-old cycle of extortion and corruption. The BNP leadership must take into cognisance the allegations against its leaders and take punitive action, as it did against more than 1,000 members and 12 committees when allegations of rent-seeking and illegal occupation were proven. The government should also consider the probe report's recommendation: privatising bus terminals and stands, allowing them to officially charge fees, and using that revenue to run these establishments. Whatever the solution, it must be implemented immediately to rid the sector of this illegal practice.
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