Minister pulls for extortion

It was none but a minister who before a parliamentary sub-committee yesterday demanded extortion be made legal to stop rampant corruption in the transport sector.

Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, who heads Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Sramik Federation, made the mind-boggling demand before the committee yesterday. Transport leaders led by him did not stop there; they placed a 17-point demand before the committee, in which they chalked-out how the “legal toll collection” would be made from buses, trucks, auto-rickshaws and labours working in the sector.

In defence of their demands, Shajahan Khan and Khandaker Enayet Ullah, a top transport owners' leader, yesterday said illegal money collection would stop on the country's roads once “toll collection” was legalised.

The controversial minister became the talk of the country last year when he suggested that professional drivers did not need education.

The parliamentary sub-committee, chaired by M Israfil Alam, yesterday at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban held the meeting with top leaders of transport labours and owners to find ways to stop raging extortion in the sector. The committee had its first meeting on October 13 last year.

After the first meeting, the sub-committee told reporters that transport workers' leaders, especially a minister-led labour organisation, were running an extortion regime and the minister's organisation was having the largest piece of the pie.

“It collects at least Tk 51 crore a year in the name of raising funds for workers' welfare,” after the October meeting Israfil told reporters quoting other transport leaders.

The committee chief had said the committee findings were only the tip of the iceberg and they were yet to get the full picture.

He had said the rampant “toll collection” results in transport fare hikes by 40 to 200 percent. The people end up paying high fares and also increased prices for all commodities, he said .

According to the sub-committee, more than 23 lakh workers are employed in the transport industry that has over 5 lakh buses. There are 7,490 workers' unions, 510 workers' organisations and 412 bus owners' associations.

Yesterday at the meeting of the committee, Shajahan Khan, Enayet Ullah and others demanded fixing a minimum charge which labours and owners would pay to run their respective bodies.

They said labours and owners organisations of light vehicles and auto rickshaws should be allowed to charge each vehicle Tk 20 a day to run their organisations.

Truck owners and labours organisations should be allowed to collect Tk 20 a day from each member as organisation running cost, said the recommendation placed before the committee.

They also recommended that each bus and truck pay Tk 20 on ferries to meet expenses of labours working there.

At the goods loading and unloading points, every truck would have to pay Tk 10. Trucks would have to pay Tk 10 at the beginning and conclusion of every travel.

Leaders of labours and bus-truck owners recommended that every inter-district bus and truck pay Tk 20 each to labours and owners union.

The leaders want payment of Tk 20 for each vehicle requisitioned for the labours' and owners' union and to compensate the vehicle's owners and meet daily expenses of the respective labours.

Shajahan Khan, labour leaders and Enayet Ullah-led transport owners' leaders yesterday also recommended formation of a committee comprising all stakeholders to implement policies on running their organisations and different bus terminals.

The committee yesterday did not make any observation regarding the 17-point demand that was placed before it.