Business as usual

Clockwise, a helper pays a BIWTA official to jump the queue at the Daulatdia ferry terminal yesterday. A truck driver, heading from Benapole to Dhaka, shows receipts, saying he had to pay tolls at 10 to 15 points on the way. A crowd of middlemen and policemen at the ferry ghat. Photo: Rashed Shumon

Conditions at Daulatdia ferry terminal returned to their previous state hours after the withdrawal of a transport strike in the southern districts to protest rampant extortion and harassment. The gang responsible for all these criminal acts re-established its presence on Monday midnight.
The gang members, locally known as dalal or middlemen, resumed manipulating vehicles' serials, buying ferry tickets on behalf of truckers and illegally realising money from them.
The district administration of Rajbari had earlier assured transport leaders about checking such malpractices, but their assurance has already turned futile.
Transport owners and workers called off their indefinite strike on Monday evening following assurances from the district administration that their six-point demand, including an end to extortion and harassment by police and dalals, would be met.
The Daily Star correspondent, who was at the terminal, saw gang members in groups beginning to come to the terminal at 11:00pm. They took control of the terminal within an hour.
Terminal sources say local ruling party leaders, police and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) directly support the gang for monetary interest.
They work as a strong syndicate and in close coordination in a situation where transport owners or workers have nothing to say. In many cases, police and BIWTC seek support from the dalals regarding the passage of a vehicle.
The Daily Star correspondent found that the gang members operate at the terminal openly. Transport drivers and helpers are fully dependant on them for serials and tickets.
According to the official system, drivers or helpers upon arrival at the terminal will take serials and collect ferry tickets by paying official fees. They are supposed to wait and board the ferry according to serial.
But this system has disappeared with the appearance of gang members.
"Now dalals are all in all. You can't buy a ticket or move your vehicle without their help," said Mintoo Sardar, a truck driver. He paid Tk 1,500 to a dalal as ferry charge although the official rate is Tk 1,060.
Talking to The Daily Star, many truckers said the gang members had become so strong and influential that they now maintain regular contact with them for serials and tickets.
"We keep their cellphone numbers and call them before reaching Daulatdia so that they can fix everything," said driver Abdul Karim of Sunny Enterprise.
Dalals on Monday night and Tuesday were seen continuously talking to drivers and assuring them of ferry services over phone. As soon as the vehicles reached the terminal, they were seen taking money from the drivers and giving them tickets.
Ironically, there were a number of police personnel with the dalals as well.
Drivers and locals allege that BIWTC doesn't receive the ferry charges, while the gang doesn't allow them to pay them either. There are instances in which dalals beat up and harassed BIWTC staff for taking ferry charges from drivers or preventing dalals from buying tickets on behalf of drivers.
The BIWTC office filed complaints with the local police station several times in vain. "Dalals belong to the local ruling party. They are always backed by the police. We are helpless here," said a BIWTC official, asking not to be identified.
Finding no other alternatives, several transport owners now maintain permanent links with the gang so that their vehicles can quickly cross the river.
GM Enterprise is one such transport agency. It has appointed Sultan for quick passage of its 19 trucks. "Sultan takes Tk 300-400 for passing each truck," said a helper of GM Enterprise.
Drivers who don't maintain dalals are forced to stay off the road and park at the terminal's scheduled parking space. These drivers face huge difficulties in getting serials and buying ferry tickets.
They can resolve the problem only after paying the police Tk 100-200; otherwise, they will have to wait there for one or two days to cross the river.
For truck drivers, involving dalals does not always bring about a solution. "This illegal practice hardly helps us now as everyone is seeking the service," commented a truck driver.
"I reached Daulatdia at 3:00am yesterday and engaged a dalal at 8:00am. But I don't know when my serial will come," the driver told The Daily Star at 2:00pm. "I will be very happy if I get my turn before the evening," he added.
Many drivers, helpers and locals say the dalals and their patrons have managed to establish the system in which they are the only beneficiaries.
They estimate that Tk 4-5 lakh is realised illegally every day from around 800 trucks at Daulatdia terminal.
The Daily Star learned that the syndicate is comprised of separate small groups and each group works under a leader.
Sattar Sheikh and his brother Billal Sheikh lead a group, while Hai Mollah and his brother Mannan Mollah run another one. Tokon, Mohammad Molla, and Mostafi-Moti also maintain their groups. Each of the groups has eight to 10 members.
Daulatdia Union Awami League President and Union Parishad Chairman Nurul Islam Mondol, who is the brother-in-law of Hai Molla, allegedly operates the entire syndicate along with local BCL leader Nurul Islam Mondol and Daulatdia union AL organising secretary Mohammad Molla.
"The chairman does not come out in the open. He controls the entire syndicate from behind the scenes with support from the local lawmaker," said a group member, who refused to reveal his name.
Nurul Islam Mondol said his men and some outsiders were there to "help transport owners manage their vehicles at the terminal".
He claims the transport owners appoint the men in their own interest. "The number of such men is rising with the rise in the number of vehicles," he told The Daily Star over phone, adding that 60 to 70 of his men are involved in Daulatdia terminal.
The number of outsiders will be around 30, he added.
Manager (Commerce) of BIWTC Khandakar Md Tanveer Hossain said it was not possible for them to distinguish between drivers and dalals. "People come to us with money and vehicle numbers and we give them ferry tickets," he said, claiming that BIWTC took only government-fixed fees.
The reign of dalals came up in a meeting of transport owners, police and BIWTC officials at Daulatdia on Monday night.
The owners urged the police and BIWTC officials to stop the dalals, but the meeting failed to reach a solution in this regard. The BIWTC officials suggested that the owners avoid engaging dalals, but the owners told the meeting that they were helpless.