The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) reclaimed a piece of land along the Beribadh road in the capital’s Gabtoli area in July last year, evicting shanties and other illegal establishments.
The authorities had a plan to develop a hydro eco park and a hospital for animals and plants. However, the current reality is starkly different as the land is now being used for an unauthorised truck stand and as a hub for collecting extortion from the trucks using the stand.
There are allegations that representatives of the Bangladesh inter-district truck driver workers union regularly collect tolls from trucks under the guise of a service charges. The receipt, signed by the union's general secretary, Mosharraf Hossain, mentions the charge to be Tk 30, but trucks are charged Tk 50 each upon entering the stand.
Conversations with multiple workers, drivers, and city corporation staff revealed that an average of 450 trucks use the stand for parking each day. With each truck paying Tk 50, the toll amounts to Tk 22,500 daily and Tk 675,000 monthly.
Multiple sources claimed that union leaders, city corporation staff, traffic police, and local ward councilors share these tolls among themselves.
There is a plan to build a plant and veterinary hospital as well as a hydro eco park in the reclaimed land. The project will commence soon, and all trucks will be removed beforehand.
The spot, which falls under jurisdiction of DNCC zone-4, is known as Tire Patti. In a drive on 10 July, the DNCC evicted more than 600 shanties and a two-storied establishment from the land, but kept it unprotected.
During a recent visit, trucks were seen parked in queues on the slope of the Beribadh near the proposed wholesale kitchen market at Gabtoli. More than two bigha areas have been occupied by the illegal truck stand, with bamboo barriers at the entrance. A union representative, Haji Alam, was found collecting toll from truck drivers in a makeshift shack.
The authorities initiated efforts to evict the truck stand, but encountered difficulties when union leaders met the mayor. The city corporation, however, provided no formal permission for the truck stand.
When approached, Abed Ali, executive officer for zone-4 of the DNCC, declined to comment on the illegal truck stand.
However, an official of the zone said a number of trucks were parked on the land during the political unrest in November last year. Soon after, it was transformed into an illegal truck stand, while some people began collecting tolls from trucks.
According to the DNCC estate department, the authorities initiated efforts to evict the truck stand, but encountered difficulties when union leaders met the mayor. The city corporation, however, provided no formal permission for the truck stand.
It was also learned that the authorities are considering leasing out the land to legalise the stand.
Asked about the issue, the chief estate officer of the city corporation, Mahe Alam, declined to comment on the matter.
Mosharraf Hossain, general secretary of the Bangladesh inter-district truck, covered van, mini-truck driver, workers union, said there is no permission from the city corporation for the truck stand, but the mayor is aware of the issue.
He noted that they began parking trucks in the unused land during arson incidents before the national election. Regarding tolls, he claimed they collect Tk 30 for disabled, helpless, and unemployed workers, and it is approved by the government. He also claimed to be unaware of collecting Tk 50 from trucks.
Contacted, DNCC mayor Atiqul Islam said there is a plan to build a plant and animal hospital as well as a hydro eco park in the reclaimed land. The project will commence soon, and all trucks will be removed beforehand.