The Dhaka South City Corporation leased out spaces for parking at Gulistan, Kamalapur, Jatrabari, Sayedabad, Motijheel, Demra, Madartek, Nandipara, Matuail and other areas although the city body has no such space in the areas.

The DSCC leased out the areas to a company named Uttara Chaka for a year for about Tk 3 crore allowing it to collect fees at the rate of Tk 10 to Tk 60 daily from commercially-used vehicles like buses, minibuses, CNG-run auto rickshaws, legunas and pickups.

According to transport sector insiders, taking advantage of the lease several syndicates became active in the areas and are extorting money from vehicles in the name of the DSCC and the lessee.

Both DSCC and Uttara Chaka officials admitted the extortion allegation but refused to take responsibility in this regard.

Several groups of people wearing aprons with the logo of Dhaka South City Corporation and identifying them as employees of the lessee firm continued extorting money from all sorts of vehicles, including trucks and privately-used vehicles, crossing the areas.

Transport workers and vehicle owners alleged that organised extortionists were collecting money round the clock against money receipts in the name of the lessee.

DSCC chief executive officer ABM Amin Ullah Nuri told New Age on January 30 that the city corporation did not lease out parking spaces but stopovers to the firm under some conditions without permitting anyone to collect toll in apron with any DSCC symbol.

Uttara Chaka was given the lease to collect stopover charges from Tk 10 to Tk 60 each from specific commercially-used vehicles like buses, minibuses, CNG-powered auto rickshaws, legunas and pickups once a day to augment the city corporation’s revenue, he said.

‘The DSCC has issued 21-point terms and conditions to the leaseholder to collect the fees by giving the vehicles legally valid receipts,’ he said.

According to the terms and conditions, the leaseholder cannot collect toll from any truck and privately-used vehicle and also not more than once a day from any commercially-used vehicle.

A number of truck drivers alleged that a group of people forced them to pay from Tk 200 to 300 for every trip when they cross the specific areas.

Bus drives complained that they were forced to pay toll several times a day to various groups of people at various locations.

Uttara Chaka managing director Md Aftab Masud told New Age also on January 30 that he too had received such complaints after which his firm had written to the city corporation to take action against the extortionists.

‘I have appointed some 40 people to collect toll who receive the fees against receipts but some extortionists are collecting money using the name of my company,’ said Masud, also owner of Hemachal Paribahan bus transport company and joint secretary general of the Dhaka Unit of Sarak Paribahan Malik Samity.

Ahad Ali, a truck driver from Narayanganj, said that he was compelled to pay Tk 300 at Jatrabari and Tk 100 again at Arambagh for carrying vegetables to Karwanbazar.

Masud said that his people would never collect money from trucks as they were instructed not to but he acknowledged that he also received the same complaints from truckers.

Asked, both DSCC and Uttara Chaka officials said that they did not have the responsibility to prevent the extortion.

Paltan police station officer-in-charge Abu Bakar Siddik said that they did not receive any complaint about extortions in recent times, adding that three to four months ago police arrested three persons for extortion.

Welcome Paribahan’s managing director and also Bangladesh Motor Sramik League central committee president Md Kalu Sheikh said that the DSCC lessee forced them to pay Tk 40 without giving any parking facilities.

‘They are collecting parking fee but they don’t have parking spaces and I don’t park my minibus on any space,’ said Kalu who is also Jatiya Sramik League Dhaka north unit’s joint secretary.

He said that bus owners had meanwhile served a legal notice on the DSCC warning that if the city corporation continues the lease they will file a writ petition against it.

Owners of Gazipur–Narayanganj buses running via Savar which cross Gulistan said that they had to pay parking fee at Gabtoli, Gulistan and Narayanganj but they parked their vehicles only at the Narayanganj terminal for a fee of Tk 55.

Transport owners and workers further said that they gave toll while crossing the Gulistan, Motijheel, Kamalapur and adjacent areas but did not get any services as provided at the Gabtoli, Mohakhali and Sayedabad terminals.

There is a terminal at Gabtoli but none at Gulistan while Tk 50 and Tk 40 are charged at the two places respectively, they said.

DSCC officials said that though the leaseholder was collecting toll in the name of parking space actually it was road tax as the vehicles ply on the roads of the city corporation.

According to Supreme Court lawyer Shafiqul Islam Babul, the vehicle owners pay road tax to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority when they receive registration for their vehicles.

‘The same tax cannot be charged twice,’ he said, adding that it is illegal.

Rather the DSCC can claim a percentage from the BRTA instead of imposing new tax on a different plea.

The city corporations cannot lease out their roads for parking but can take terminal fee only from the vehicles parked at a terminal, he said.

Officials said that the DSCC had floated the tender for leasing out its lone Sayedabad Inter-District Bus Terminal while Dhaka North City Corporation had leased out its both inter-district bus terminals at Gabtoli and Mohakhali in January for Tk 12.1 crore.