City’s bus terminals hubs of extortionists, criminals

Misconduct by transport workers, porters, the presence of criminals, armed extortionists, unauthorized vendors, pickpockets, snatchers and beggars in city’s three inter-district bus terminals create a disgusting atmosphere everyday leading to harassment and suffering of thousands of passengers.
As soon as the present AL-led government assumed power all the bad elements returned to the bus terminals. Passengers who had heaved a sigh of relief during last caretaker regime are now suffering.
In the face of massive crackdown launched by the joint forces on the three bus terminals-Gabtoli, Saidabad and Mohakhali during erstwhile military backed caretaker regime, the criminals and armed extortionists had left the premises of terminals. But now they have started reorganising and extorting toll from the transport owners, employees and hawkers under the very nose of law enforcers.
This correspondent visiting the city’s three inter-district bus terminals on Friday found anarchic situations prevailing in and around the terminals.
As soon as a passenger arrives at the bus terminal, he or she falls prey to the porters, backed by the transport workers and members of powerful labour organisations. They start dragging the passengers to buses. They also force the passengers to pay for carrying their luggage.
Vendors are selling different items causing irritation to passengers. They move from one bus to another and sell their goods of high prices. The terminal authorities who have been given the lease of toilets are virtually exploiting the passengers; they charge much more. The toilets are now in a pitiable condition and always remain dirty.
According to transport owners and staffs the bus terminals are witnessing very poor turnout of passengers.
“Around one thousand vehicles with 75 thousand seats leave the Mohakhali bus terminal everyday. But there is very poor turnover of passengers against the seats capacity for the last two months. For this reason the staff and employee of different bus services start dragging the passengers to buses,” Raihan a staff of a Netrokona-bound Green Line bus service said while talking to this correspondent at Mohakhali bus stand.
Counter masters, Imam Hasan, of Rafraf enterprise and Ibrahim Azad, of SM travels said the transport business has been facing a serious set back as people are not leaving for different destinations in large scale due to financial hardship.
An official of Mahakhali police camp said, the law and order situation of the bus terminal is now under control. In a bid to reduce criminal activities, police with the help of RAB are continuously raiding in and around the terminal and arrested around 30 criminals including snatchers, muggers and activists of aggyan party in the last three months. Despite the massive drive against criminals, a section of corrupt people with the help of former transport businessmen formed an organisation named ‘Dhaka Sarak Paribahan’. In the name of this organisation, they are collecting money from vendors, hawkers, tea stole owners and different bus counters, counter masters of the terminal told this correspondent.
The underlings of most underworld criminals, political leaders and politicised transport associations have resumed their extortion rackets in the transport sector recently, said a bus driver, adding, that Tk four to five lakh is regularly extorted from the counters at the Mohakhali bus terminal every month.
‘Extortion in Tejgaon and Mohakhali bus terminal is happening rampantly and we still cannot free ourselves of these extortion rackets that almost jeopardise our transport business,’ said a member of the Mohakhali Bus Terminal Owners’ Association.
Talking to this correspondent, a transport worker at City’s Gabtoli bus terminal said the ruling AL leaders are collecting extortions regularly from every bus here.
Another transport worker said, “A section of police official with help of local criminals and hoodlums identified as ‘Line Man’ are collecting toll from footpath vendors, hawkers, sitting service bus counters and tea stall owners and harassing them continuously.”
On condition of anonymity, an owner of a long route bus-service said, “We, transport and market owners, have sought support from the enforcers to protect us from unnecessary harassment by criminals and extortionists who are causing hindrance to our businesses. But we rarely get help from the police in this regard.”

Courtesy of The Bangladesh today