Extortion

Extortion means compelling someone to pay a particular amount of money, or taking away a particular amount of money forcefully from someone. Extortion is a crime and we the city people face this in several forms.
One familiar form is extortion from CNG and taxi cab drivers. CNG and taxicabs have been introduced in the city for a safe and comfortable journey for the commuters, especially for the middle. But from the very beginning we are facing extortion from CNG and taxi cab drivers in the form of paying 10-20 Taka more than the meter fare.
No one paid attention to this matter and as a result now the drivers directly demand fare according to their sweet will, totally ignoring the fare meter. If we protest, the drivers start quarrelling and drive away. This is not seen in foreign countries, where people have easy access to public vehicles like taxicab without facing problems. People complain to the police but to no avail.
The question is why we should pay extra fare, which is not legal. The law is made for the betterment of general people but we hardly find law protecting us. It's high time for the govt. to make a new law for taxi cab or CNG fare considering the variables that influence the fare such as gas price, deposit to owners, distance etc. the govt. should monitor the situation and the Police should take some exemplary action against the drivers or the owners who violate the law. Implementing rules will able to make our journey safe, comfortable, extortion free. All we need is to just respect and follow the law.

M. Seefat, University of Dhaka