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New Toll Rate

Protest leads to withdrawal

Staff Correspondent
In the face of agitation by transport workers, the authorities yesterday postponed collecting higher toll from vehicles at the first China-Bangladesh Friendship Bridge over the Buriganga river.
Showing a new chart at the approaches to the bridge, Roads and Highways Department on Friday afternoon started taking toll from vehicles at rates up to 25 times the current one.
In protest, hundreds of three-wheeler, bus and truck drivers along with other transport workers blocked the roads leading to both sides of the bridge around 8:00am yesterday, creating long tailbacks in South Keraniganj and Postogola areas.
Sheikh Abdur Razzaq, officer-in-charge of Shyampur Police Station, said the demonstrators left the scene in the afternoon on assurance from RHD and police authorities that the new toll rate would be implemented later.
Thousands of people had to cross the bridge on foot before vehicular movement became normal around 3:00pm.
According to the chart, toll for a big rig was Tk 750, loaded lorry Tk 240, busTk 35 and small-truckTk 170. Currently, all these vehicles pay the government only Tk 30 for using the bridge.
Mohammad Ismail, driver of an auto-rickshaw on Keraniganj-Postogola route, said they earnTk 30 toTk 50 for every trip after payingTk 10 as bridge toll.
"As per the new rate, I would have to giveTk 25. It means 1 will earn almost nothing," he told The Daily Star.
RHD Additional Chief Engineer Aftab Ahmed said for the time being the bridge toll would be collected as per the previous rate.
He said the new decision was taken to calm the workers' agitation and ensure hassle-free return of Eid holidaymakers to the capital.
"We will decide on collecting toll as per the new rate once the situation becomes normal," he said.
The RHD official said the new rate was imposed as per a uniform policy on toll of bridges and ferries approved by the cabinet in March last year and they were implementing that in phases across the country.
The present lease term of the first Buriganga bridge expired on July 23 and the authorities went for the new toll fees the next day, he said.
Asked why two other bridges over the same river were toll free, he said, "I cannot answer that."
The second Buriganga bridge has been toll free for the last one year and there is a demand for making the first one toll free as well, said Sheikh Mukhtar Hossain, a local leader of Bangladesh Awami Motor Sramik League, during yesterday's demonstration.
But the authorities hiked the toll fees instead, he said.
The chart, which was removed later, showed bridge toll for minibus was raised to Tk 25 from Tk 20, for microbus to Tk 75 from Tk 20 and Tk 25 from 10 for all motorised three-wheelers.