City-bound Cattle
Extortion unabated
Despite the government's preventive measures against extortion, cattle traders bound for the city over highways and waterways are facing multi-phased and wide-scale extortion and harassment by criminals and a section of corrupt law enforcers.
Additional forces from Rapid Action Battalion and police were deployed, patrolling was intensified, check-posts were installed and a monitoring cell was formed by the home ministry. But extortion is continuing unabated, said the traders.
The largest share of the extortion is collected at Daulatdia, Aricha, Nagarbari, Maowa and Kaorakandi ferry ghats of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC).
Here the extortion is in the form of increased ferry fares to cross the river Padma with the traders paying out five to 10 times more than the actual fare fixed by BIWTA.
Traders bringing cattle by engine-run boats are not spared as they are forced to pay extra money to lease holders of different boat ghats for loading and unloading cattle.
These allegations coming from the traders is not true, said Assistant Inspector General (AIG-Confidential) of Police Mahfuzur Rahman, overseeing the activities of the cell formed to prevent extortion in cattle trade, yesterday afternoon.
Speaking to The Daily Star, Mahfuzur said the additional law enforcers are working round-the-clock to check extortion across the country.
“So far we received no allegation of extortion from the cattle traders and none lodged any complaint in this connection,” he said.
But a number of cattle traders, talking to The Daily Star, elaborated the spots and ways in which they are being extorted.
“I paid Tk 100 to police at Kaorakandi ghat after I reached there on a truck carrying 11 of my cows.
“The fixed fare for ferrying trucks is Tk 1,260 but I paid Tk 2,000,” said Mizanur Sheikh, a cattle trader of Abhoynagar thana in Jessore, after bringing his cattle at Agargaon cattle market.
Nuruzzaman of Shahjadpur in Sirajganj district, bringing 32 cows on an engine-run boat at Taltola cattle market, said he paid the ghat's lease holder Tk 150 to unload each cow though the government-fixed rate is Tk 15. Then, he had to pay another Tk 1,600 to load the cattle on two trucks.
Moreover, there are two points on Dhaka-Aricha highway where law enforcers, over the excuse of checking the vehicle's papers, are taking Tk 100.
Our Manikganj correspondent reports that the traders at Daulatdia ferry ghat are forced to buy ferry tickets from middlemen, costing them Tk 1,500 to 2,000 for each truck. The government rate is Tk 960.
Buying from the middlemen gives them faster access to the ferry. But those trying to legally buy tickets from BIWTC staff are being harassed and forced to wait long hours in queues.
But here too was the denial from BIWTC Manager (Commerce) Ashraf Ullah Khan over the existence of extortion or irregularity.
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