Hasina sets example of playing by the rule

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina once again set an example by paying tolls for her convoy of 52 vehicles while crossing Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover and Buriganga Bridge-1 in Postogola yesterday.

She had done so for her car while inaugurating the flyover on October 11, 2013.

However, Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Sayeed Khokon did not pay for his convoy on May 26. Instead, an altercation had ensued between the mayor's men and the flyover staff at a toll plaza at the Postogola end.

The next day, DSCC issued a letter to the flyover authorities asking to make sure that the mayor was exempted from paying the toll. The authorities withdrew the letter after The Daily Star published a report.

None is exempted from paying the flyover's toll as per the construction contract while the Postogola authorities exempt the Roads and Highways Department and police.

Yesterday, Hasina had flown to Mawa to inaugurate the Padma bridge's construction, but opted using the road on her way back to see for herself the progress in the construction of the bridge project's approach road and the state of Dhaka-Mawa highway, said an official of the Prime Minister's Office, adding that she paid the toll in both places -- Tk 3,000 alone at Mayor Mohammad Hanif Flyover.