Extortion in transport is now from Awami League to BNP

The office of Dhaka Road Transport and Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association is well-furnished and spacious on the fourth floor of the multi-storied building Unique Heights in Iskaton of the capital. During the Awami League government, the transport sector of the country was controlled from here. Pro-BNP transport leaders took control of the office on August 13 after the fall of the government in the face of student protests.

Around two thousand crore rupees were collected from the transport sector across the country in the name of owners and labor organizations. Of this, 70 taka is publicly collected daily from each bus-truck. Daily, monthly and one-time huge sums are collected on various pretexts like 'gatepass or GP' or association membership fee. With the fall of the government, the people concerned think that this massive extortion in the road sector has also changed hands.

Related sources say that during the last 15 and a half years of rule of Awami League, Khandkar Enayat Ullah, vice president of Dhaka Metropolitan South Awami League, controlled the owner associations of the whole country including Dhaka. His associate was Jatiya Party leader Masiur Rahman (Ranga). Enayet left the country before the fall of the government. Mosiur Rahman is in hiding.

On this occasion, on August 10, Comilla North District BNP Joint Convenor Saiful Islam Bhuiyan led a procession of several transport leaders and broke the lock of Unique Heights office. Then they took over the office on August 13. The next day, the convening committee of 31 members was also announced under the leadership of Saiful.

Saiful Islam was the General Secretary of Dhaka Road Transport Owners Association during the previous two terms of BNP regime. BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas was its president twice. Related sources said that Mirza Abbas is behind them. Saiful's house is in Elliotganj, Comilla. The name of his transport company is Elliotganj Express. And during the BNP-Jamaat coalition government, the buses of Mirza Abbas were plying under the name of Dhaka Paribahan.

Related sources say that during the last 15 and a half years of rule of Awami League, Khandkar Enayat Ullah, vice president of Dhaka Metropolitan South Awami League, controlled the owner associations of the whole country including Dhaka. His associate was Jatiya Party leader Masiur Rahman (Ranga). Enayet left the country before the fall of the government. Mosiur Rahman is in hiding.

On this occasion, on August 10, Comilla North District BNP Joint Convenor Saiful Islam Bhuiyan led a procession of several transport leaders and broke the lock of Unique Heights office. Then they took over the office on August 13. The next day, the convening committee of 31 members was also announced under the leadership of Saiful.

Saiful Islam was the General Secretary of Dhaka Road Transport Owners Association during the previous two terms of BNP regime. BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas was its president twice. Related sources said that Mirza Abbas is behind them. Saiful's house is in Elliotganj, Comilla. The name of his transport company is Elliotganj Express. And during the BNP-Jamaat coalition government, the buses of Mirza Abbas were plying under the name of Dhaka Paribahan.

Saiful Islam said, they have taken responsibility to bring order in the transport sector. Make every effort to stop extortion. On the possibility of joining Mirza Abbas as before, Saiful said, he is busy now. Will remain as an advisor.

After the change of control of the office and the association, the bus service of Ena Paribahan on the Dhaka-Mymensingh route, owned by Khandkar Enayet Uliah, has been stopped. Buses plying on Sylhet and other routes are also under threat. According to the sources of the transport owners, Saiful, Mymensingh Awami League leader Aminul Haque Shamim, labor leader Osman Ali were running under the banner of Ena Paribahan on the Mymensingh route. They are now running under the name 'United'. Apart from this, the control of Syedabad and Gabtali terminals in the capital has also changed. On the way to great empty hands. The same situation is going on all over the country.

According to related sources, Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association and Dhaka Transport Owners Association were managed from one office for a long time. After the formation of the Awami League government in 2009, the office of the owner association was in the BRTC building in Motijheel. Eight thousand square feet office was taken in Unique Heights six years ago. About 15 crores are spent to buy and furnish the place.

Apart from this, there is Bangladesh Bus-Truck Owners Association based at Gabtali Bus Terminal. The president of this organization is the owner of Shyamoli Paribahan Ramesh Chandra Ghosh and general secretary Abu Raihan. It is known that they are not coming to the office after the change of role. Kofil Uddin, the local leader of BNP and the owner of Hanif Paribahan, is now controlling that office. During the BNP-Jamaat coalition government, this association was controlled by the party's former MP GM Siraj.

However, Kofil Uddin claimed that he did not take control of the association's office. Leaders are not coming. So the employees are now running the association.

Shajahan Khan is not coming

Shajahan Khan, a former minister and member of the Awami League presidium, had sole control over the Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation, an organization of transport workers across the country. After the change of role, he and his close friends are not coming to the head office of the organization in Motijheel.

On this occasion, the control of terminal, district and upazila-based union committee offices under them has also started changing hands. In the meantime, BNP supporters have taken over the offices of Shajahan Khan's Sramik Union in Syedabad, Jayakali Mandir and Gabtali Bus Terminal in the capital. Both the offices of Bus and Truck Workers Union in Rajshahi outside Dhaka have been changed hands. Shahjahan Khan's men also lost authority in Rangpur, Sayedpur and Jamalpur in Nilphamari.

In addition to Awami League, there are people from various parties including BNP, Basad, Jatiya Party in the committee of the federation led by Shajahan Khan. In the current committee, working president Abdur Rahim Bakhsh and vice president Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas and joint general secretary Humayun Kabir Khan are the leaders of BNP. On the other hand, Kazi Motahar Hossain, Mokhleshur Rahman and many other influential leaders of Awami League. General Secretary Osman Ali Basder.

Related sources say that even though there are representatives of all parties, Shajahan Khan had the main control for so long. During the BNP-Jamaat coalition government, the leader of the party, Habibur Rahman Khan, was in charge as the general secretary. He is not alive now. This time the control of Rahim Bakhsh and Shimul Biswas will increase. Even at one stage, someone from BNP can replace Shajahan Khan and become the main leader.

Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas said that when the new government came, some people entered the federation and left when the government left. There are strict instructions from BNP to stop usurpation and partisanship. When asked about his role in the federation, Shimul Biswas said that he was not active in the last 18 years. He is called in case of trouble. Now if the situation is normal, he will think about his role.

How much is charged?

According to a research report published by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on March 5, extortion of Tk 1,590 million is done annually from privately owned buses and minibuses in the country. Individuals or groups with party identity, traffic and highway police, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) officials-employees, owners-labor organizations and representatives of municipalities or city corporations get share of this subscription.

The study also found that politicians are involved in the management of nearly 92 percent of the country's largest bus companies. 80 percent of them are associated with the ruling party.

It has been seen that in the transport sector, the contribution is collected in three ways. One. Subscriptions in the name of daily owner-labor organization; Two. Bus-minibus subscription to the owner's association and three. Daily waybill or gatepass (GP) subscription for running company buses in and around the capital.

According to BRTA, there are about three lakh buses, minibuses and truck-covered vans in the country. At least 1 thousand 885 crore rupees are collected annually from these vehicles under the three methods.

There are 249 registered Transport Workers Unions in the country. The national organization consisting of them is the Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation. Shajahan Khan has been leading this federation for a long time. His family owns a bus company. His son Asibur Rahman Khan is the President of Madaripur District Bus Owners Association.

Jatiya Party leader Masiur Rahman is the president of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association. Secretary General Awami League leader Khondkar Enayet Ulyah. Under them there are bus-truck terminal owners' associations in 64 districts and big cities in the country.

In all, contributions are collected through more than three hundred committees of owners and workers. Apart from this, extortion takes place at various other unannounced places including ferries, toll plazas.

The ruling party politicians are in control

During the rule of Awami League for about 15 and a half years, many of the members of parliament and leaders of the party were involved in transport business in Dhaka and various districts. He led the Transport Owners and Workers Association.

Shamim Osman family of Narayanganj has a bus company named 'Shital Paribahan' under ZN Corporation. In Narayanganj, the entire transportation fund was under the control of the Osman family.

Jhenaidah MP Anwarul Azim, who was murdered last May, was the vice-president of the Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association and the general secretary of the Kaliganj Upazila Motor Owners Association. Former MP Abul Kalam Azad is the president of Gaibandha Truck Owners Association. Former Member of Parliament Chanuar Hossain is the Organizing Secretary of Central Road Transport Owners Association and President of Sherpur District.

Former General Secretary of Swachhasebak League and Awami League Member of Parliament Pankaj Nath's Bihang Paribahan bus runs on several routes in the capital Dhaka. Former Member of Parliament and General Secretary of Jubo League Mainul Hossain Khan alias Nikhil Chalan is Chairman of Paribahan Company. The company name of Anwar Majumder, brother of former Mirpur MP Kamal Ahmed Majumder, is Mohna Paribahan. He is the leader of Metropolitan North Awami League.

Organizing Secretary of Swachhasebak League and Councilor of Dhaka North City Corporation Faridur Rahman aka Chairman of Iran Desh Bangla Paribahan Company. He also had control over the Laguna in the Farmgate area. Former IGP AKM Shahidul Haque's brother AKM Ismail Haque's transport company is called Glory Express. He is the Joint General Secretary of Shariatpur District Awami League and Chairman of Naria Upazila Parishad.

Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of TIB, said that after the change of power, the main goal of other political party leaders occupying the offices of the transport sector is the control of extortion. And due to extortion, there is chaos in the transport sector, anarchy of increased fares. Its main victims are the common people. He also said that the main goal of the students' movement was to reform the state. Attempting to establish political authority only after the change of power is contrary to the aim of the students. Thus, due to political power, leaders in the transport sector have shown stronger attitudes than the government in the past. As a result, effective steps could not be taken to resolve the chaos in this sector.

SuTr: Prothom Alo

Bangladesh /SBT