The toll collectors are here...
THERE is a Hollywood movie named The Bone Collector. It is of the creepy genre that Hollywood dishes out by the dozen every month. The name of the movie reminded me of the creepy genre of criminals in this country, who go hand in hand with some of the "respected" leaders of the people who have "sacrificed" life for democracy, and who have "suffered" jail and julum for the people. To this genre of criminals, those leaders are the ultimate saviours -- the knights in shining armour.
This genre of criminals is known as the "toll collectors" and they are coming back to civilisation once again, sniffing the smell of anarchy in the short distance. Their only mantra is, "Elo melo korey dey maa, lootey pootey khai," which in English would roughly mean ... "open the doors and let us loot the coffer." Their bosses are back to civilisation after a short sojourn in some government "rest houses" where they were treated as VIPs.
Well, from various media reports we learn that the blessed criminals are already back in action. They have started to do what they are capable of doing best -- raiding business houses and buildings under construction, with the noble object of collecting toll on behalf of their noble leaders. Give (money) or get (bullets) is the name of the game. Trick or treat.
Weeks back, they had paid a visit to some construction sites and asked the workers for the phone numbers and addresses of the owners of the buildings. The workers were beaten up when they failed to oblige.
Meanwhile, they continued to carry out raids on local hotels for toll. At Karwan Bazar, the other day in broad daylight, they fired on the employees of a hotel after failing to get toll. In the old part of the city a garment factory owner was shot dead by the toll collectors. Media reports also inform us that some of the most respectfully feared human specimens, known as "ward commissioners," are coming out of their secret dens after getting green signals from their associates -- the toll collectors.
I wonder why people fear those ward commissioners when the posters during elections had boldly said they possessed "characters as pure as flowers." Even if they collect toll or loot the coffer they do it for the people. Aren't those goons and thugs and smugglers and heroin dealers people -- just like you and I?
And see how dedicated they are to social service -- they would not hesitate to sacrifice your life for the people. Why can't you look at it this way -- a service to the nation?
So, don't be so harsh on those leaders if they send armed goons to you or your business house for some small amount like five lac, ten lac, twenty lac. They need the money, don't they? And since they cannot do any job like you and I can, or work in the field like a common farmer, they must have a source of income.
And the best source is sending the boys to you and me to collect chanda. It's so easy and so democratic too! You see, they collect from everyone -- no discrimination.
Now, what do the ward commissioners actually do after they get "elected"? They spend crores to get elected, so how do they manage to get the money back? First and foremost, they look for government land in their area and as soon as they find one they set up a kitchen market there. That brings in minimum Tk. 20 thousand a day. Not bad, eh?
But that is not enough, brother. They need more money. So, next, they get a list of abandoned buildings (those left vacant by the non-Bengalis after 1971) in their area and send their goons to threaten the present inmates (freedom fighters, teachers, government officials) to vacate the house.
Once they run away, the ward commissioner prepares a false document with the help of some corrupt people in the relevant ministries and gets it permanently allotted in his name. He might sell it for Tk. 2 crore.
Well, that is not enough either. A ward commissioner has to take care of at least two hundred goons. So, he needs much more. His goons tell him about other sources that bring in lots and lots of money, sources like collecting toll from the local prostitutes and their pimps, heroin and ganja sellers, rickshaw-pullers, CNG drivers and garages, truck and bus stands, all the shops in the area, clinics, schools and colleges.
Ward commissioners have more work to do than what we know of. They have to manipulate all government construction tenders so that companies owned either by them or their brothers and nephews get the contracts. Most of the time they sell the work orders at a high price to a genuine construction firm.
This results in inferior quality work of the project, as the firm owners have to make some profit after paying a substantial amount to the ward commissioner. It is no wonder the roads and drains of the locality remain in a dilapidated condition throughout the year.
Then they have to exert influence/pressure on the police to free criminals from custody. Negotiating with murderers and robbers bring in lots of money. It's a big time banijya, brother.
So, get ready to welcome our commissioner brothers with open arms and wallets. For if you don't, then get ready to be picked up from your home or office. Get ready to entertain the goons of the ward commissioners in your office. Get ready to hear from your son that he was happy to hand over his cell phone to a chap on the road. The days of the toll collectors have come.
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