Most of the buses and minibuses are avoiding the Gulistan-Jatrabari flyover on allegation of excessive tolls collected by the Orion Group.
Saydabad Inter District and City Bus Terminal Owners’ Association general secretary, Mohammad Khairul Alam Molla told New Age on Wednesday that about 50 to 100 buses and minibuses were plying the flyover daily, while about 1,500 to 2,000 buses and minibuses were still using the road under the elevated motorway.
He said, ‘A bus can ply the flyover for six trips on Dhaka-Narsinghdi route a day. We have to pay Tk 260 for a minibus or bus for using the flyover for once. So we have to pay Tk 3,200 everyday for only one bus and it is not viable for us.’
Khairul also said that the Dhaka South City Corporation or the communications ministry was yet to take any action even after holding meeting with the transport owners and that might force them to go for strike.
On October 12 the government opened to traffic the much hyped Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover.
On the day transport workers quarrelled and scuffled with toll collectors as Orion Group executives were charging toll at higher rate than the rate of toll fixed in 2005.
Experts said that the flyover was yet to ease traffic congestion as most of the vehicles avoiding it for high toll rate.
Orion Infrastructure Ltd constructed the flyover on ‘build, own, operate and transfer’ basis, meaning that the private company would collect toll for vehicles using the flyover for the next 24 years to realise the costs.
Orion Group supply chain manager Chowdhury Khaled Masud told New Age on Wednesday that they had fixed the revised toll rate by calculating the inflation, value added tax and the increased construction in accordance with the concession agreement.
The city corporation chief executive officer, Ansar Ali Khan, said that the toll had earlier had been fixed when the contract was signed in 2005 and now there was no way to collect toll at a higher rate.
‘According to the 2005 agreement, the fixed toll rate will continue three years after the opening the flyover to traffic’ he said.
The Orion Group would collect 15 per cent value added tax on the fixed toll, but what they are collecting is higher than the actual toll, he added.
He also alleged that the group did not reply their two letters issued on October 13 and another after Eid.
Khaled Masud, however, said, ‘We have replied city corporation’s letters, but we are yet to get any response from them.’
-With New Age input
