EXTORTION in the road transport regime appears to have been back to square again in full swing although the amount of money that changed hands during the authoritarian rule of the Awami League, which was toppled on August 5, in the process has come to almost a half in most cases. Yet, this is extortion, which is a crime, and it adds to the bus fare, finally burdening passengers. This also shows the failure of the interim government, installed on August 8, as people largely believed that in the changed political context, corruption such as extortion would stop. Extortion in the road transport regime is reported to be taking place in several ways as it did during the Awami League rule. After the fall of the Awami League government, Bangladesh Nationalist Party people are reported to have taken control of the Dhaka Road Transport Owners鈥� Association in mid-August by convening a committee. Leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party鈥檚 youth wing Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal are reported to have begun collecting extortion money from transport owners, even from owners who run Road Transport Corporation buses. The police are also reported to have begun collecting extortion money from buses in the first week of September. This a major issue that the government should immediately attend to.
Transport owners say that the traffic police personnel are filing cases against transports in a blanket manner even when the vehicles have all the valid papers. There are allegations that the police let away the buses that pay money to traffic inspectors. The police seek to say that they are unaware of such incidents, but it is the duty of the police to look into the issue. Ranking Bangladesh Nationalist Party leaders say that they have received several allegations against their people, noting that the party is stringent about extortion and grabs and has already taken action in this connection. Yet, extortion by people of the party is still reported. The situation calls for action by the party high-up that should be deterrent against such menace. The third form of extortion that is taking place, as it did in the past, involves bus companies, which run buses owned by other people, that call it the 鈥榞ate pass鈥� money. The companies extort money from every city service bus and all the buses that run on long routes. Whilst transport owners say that this greatly adds to the bus fare, bus companies seek to say that the money that they collect in the name of 鈥榞ate pass鈥� is spent on the wages of bus drivers and their assistants and also in the event of accidents or other hassles on the road. But transport workers say that they get paid by their owners, not the companies as the company owners seek to say.
And, all the quarters say that the amount of money that used to be extorted has come down. Yet, it still remains extortion that the government should be stringent enough to take deterrent action against.