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Collection of illegal tolls on highways during the transportation of goods is one of the major factors contributing to the price hike of essential commodities. It is, however, nothing new. It is as old a practice as is the story of government failure in taking action against the highway extortionists belonging to the unholy nexus of some corrupt politicians, errant police personnel, and rowdy musclemen. The same old tale came to the fore once again when former Foreign Minister Abdul Momen, an MP from Sylhet-1 constituency, recently vented his frustration before the national parliament.
He said small and medium businessmen of his area had complained to him they were being forced by criminals to pay Tk 5,000 to Tk 10,000 per truck while carrying daily necessities such as vegetables and sugar. If traders refused to pay, the drivers had their trucks hijacked. He demanded this sort of 'oppression of traders' to be stopped.
Highway extortion, however, is not a cause for concern for traders in the constituency of the said MP alone. Traders all over the country are faced with this grim reality, which ultimately takes a toll on the economy and the people, as it adds to the cost of doing business and cost of living.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina early this month gave directives on at least a couple of occasions to lawmakers, bureaucrats and cops to stop extortion to bring down the rapidly rising prices of essential commodities. Reining in the galloping inflation horse is the new government's 'biggest priority', said the top leaders of ruling Awami League after retaining power for four consecutive terms in January 7 elections.
In accordance with the government's priority, Bangladesh Bank in mid-January announced a contractionary monetary policy for the second half of this fiscal (January-June) with the aim of bringing down inflation rate to 7.5 per cent. The main objective of the MPS is to reduce money supply in the economy, which in turn is expected to help arrest inflation. But in spite of the tight money supply, the rate of inflation spiked from 9.41 per cent in December to 9.86 per cent in January, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
While it is too early to claim that the new monetary policy has failed to curb inflation, it is essential to recognise that curbing inflation in Bangladesh requires a multi-pronged approach. Relying solely on an orthodox monetary policy might not be enough, given the complex interplay of factors contributing to price hikes. Apart from demand-pull, cost-push and exchange rate factors, inflation in Bangladesh is also fuelled by market manipulation and rampant extortion of money from traders. So, pursuing a contractionary monetary policy without addressing the underlying factors might not prove to be very effective.
Moreover, contractionary monetary policy comes with the risks of contraction of the economy, job cuts and economic slowdown. So, when the government is risking so much by following a tight monetary policy, it is simply untenable that unfair practices in the market and transportation network cannot be addressed.
Syndicates are often blamed for destabilising the market. Raids are often conducted both at wholesale and retail markets. But if past experience is anything, this creates panic among traders but fail to make the goods cheaper. But the issue of stopping extortion has never been given the due attention it deserves for smooth operation of the market.
The issue of extortion leading to price hike also came up during Sunday's meeting between the Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) President Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan. BCI President categorically said the extortion practice is one of the major reasons for commodity prices not coming down. He informed the home minister that the prices of essential commodities could be reduced significantly if extortion was stopped during their transportation. Earlier, sections of businessmen submitted memorandums to the authorities concerned demanding an end to the extortion on highways, but to no avail.
One may get an idea of how widespread and deep-rooted the highway extortion menace has become from a recent investigative report of a national daily. According to the report, a reporter of the daily went undercover as a trader by boarding a truck carrying potatoes from the Saidpur in Nilphamari to Narayanganj, and he witnessed that the truck was stopped either by policemen or their representatives in no less than 14 spots along the 353km stretch of highway to collect tolls. The truck driver and his assistant ended up paying Tk 5,400 in that single trip. Moreover, there are monthly tolls to be paid.
The traders alleged that they need to pay a sum of around Tk 10,000 in total (spot payment plus monthly toll) for bringing agricultural products from the northern districts to Dhaka and its adjacent areas. Just imagine how much money is made by collecting daily tolls from thousands of goods-laden trucks plying on the country's highways. Obviously, extortion is not limited to transportation of goods alone. The shoppers and vendors are also victims of this ever-escalating crime. Ultimately, it is the common consumers who bear the brunt of this evil practice.
While extortion by unruly party activists and local criminals has long been regarded as an aspect of the country's deteriorating law and order and unhealthy political culture, the picture becomes even more muddied and complicated when lawmen themselves are found to be in the forefront of the extortion racket.
Extortion on the roads and highways across the country is not being carried out clandestinely; it is done very much openly in defiance of all rules and authority, and not by one or two wayward policepersons but by a syndicate. The government could very easily end this menace if it wanted to. It could prove the allegation by deploying intelligence service, secret camera, etc. But so far no concrete measure has been taken to stop the rot. Even the 'routine supervision' of the police department seems to be mere eyewash and traders and consumers are left to the mercy of a section of corrupt highway police and thugs.
Police authorities say they can take action after they receive a complaint, but toll collection is done so openly official complaints are unnecessary. It is just a matter of observing and monitoring. Furthermore, traders are reluctant to lodge formal complaints fearing retaliatory action that may affect their person and their business. The attitude of the police administration amounts to showing indulgence to corruption. If the government seriously intends to curb corruption and halt the escalating prices of essentials it should be reflected in its action.
It is said that where there is a will, there is a way. But if the thriving illegal extortion rackets on the highway proves anything, it is that the authorities had actually lost their will to curb this illegal toll collection. It is high time to address this lingering problem if the government truly wants to bring down prices of essential commodities, otherwise it will blunt the tight monetary policy, which in turn will further aggravate the country's economic woes.