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Buriganga Bridge

Staff Correspondent
Toll collected illegally from CNG drivers
The leaseholder of the Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge-1 (Buriganga bridge) has allegedly been collecting over Tk 1 lakh in tolls illegally a day from CNG-run auto-rickshaws although the lease agreement does not give it that right.
During a visit to the bridge by The Daily Star correspondent it was learnt that employees of the leaseholder, Alim Miah and Sons owned by Abdus Salam Bepari, collect Tk 10 per auto-rickshaw.
The contractor got the lease for one year in April forTk 4.92 crore.
Section-7 of the leasing agreement clearly mentions that the lessee must collect tolls against money receipts. "It is forbidden to collect tolls without providing money receipts," the agreement
But when asked why they are collecting tolls without money
receipts, the toll collectors on duty told The Daily Star correspondent, " It is none of yo ur business."
Deputy Assistant Engineer of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) FirozAlam said he was aware that tolls are being collected without money receipts and that in May they had asked the lessee verbally to stop collecting tolls from CNG-run autorickshaws. He said he has already informed the department high officials about the matter.
Auto-rickshaw drivers alleged that they informed the Shyampur Police Station and the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) of the matter in writing but the law enforcers have not taken any step and rather favour the lessee.
However, Officer-in-Charge of Shyampur Police Station Alamgir Hossain said no one informed him that the lessee is collecting tolls without money receipts.
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The auto-rickshaw drivers also alleged that they are being harassed for protesting the toll collection. "Eleven drivers and staff have been implicated in extortion cases under the Speedy Trial Act since we started protesting the toll collection in April," said an auto-usk^iiaHdrML.. .i,
Following a writ petition filled by two aggrieved persons on May 27, the High Court ordered the l^see not to collect toll from the CNG-run auto-rickshaws.
Meanwhile, Alim Miah and Sons in a letter to the RHD executive engineer in Munshiganj said they are collecting tolls from autorickshaws as these fall in the category of auto-tempo from which the lessee can collect tolls as per the agreement.
In the letter dated July 1, the contractor also claimed that although they are not doing anything wrong, they have stopped collecting tolls from CNG-run auto-rickshaws as "you and the high court asked us not to collect tolls from auto-rickshaws". It also said it is incurring a loss of Tk 63,000 a day because of this.
However, it was learnt that the
lessee started collecting tolls from die CNG-run auto-rickshaws again from July 1.
An auto-rickshaw driver said, "1 usually make 25-30 trips from one end of the bridge to the other every day...We ask for money receipts but the toll collectors do not give any andoften misbehave with us."
-Etc-said the—a irt Orricks haws charge Tk 6 from each passenger because of the toll and if they did not have to give the toll, the fare would beTk 4.
Around 1,500 CNG-run autorickshaws cross the bridge a day, over 500 of them just carrying passengers from one end of the bridge to the other, said Haji Mohammad Raisuddin, owner of a n umber of auto-rickshaws.
Meanwhile, over 200 owners and drivers of auto-rickshaws yesterday formed a human chain on the bridge, protesting the collection of tolls from them.
They had announced to hold a one-hour demonstration from 11:00am but just 10 minutes after the demonstration started police snatched their banners and asked them not to hold any demonstration.