​Decision of imposing toll on highways made to loot money: BNP

BNP on Friday opposed the government plan to collect toll from long-haul vehicles that ply national highways, saying it is an anti-people move which will aggravate traffic situation and cause a finical burden on passengers.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at an Ecnec meeting two days back directed to collect toll from vehicles that ply on national highways. It’s completely an anti-people decision,” said BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

Speaking at a press briefing at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, he said their party thinks the government is going to take the step to cut into people’s pockets. “On behalf of BNP, I call upon the government to retreat from such a move.”

The BNP leader alleged that most roads in the country are in a sorry state with full of potholes, causing frequent accidents and loss of lives.

Besides, he said, passengers are going through serious sufferings due to tailbacks on the roads and highways, and the new barriers will be created to traffic if toll boxes are set up on the highways.

“People will have to pay extra money from their pockets if the toll is collected on the highways. The intensity of traffic jams will be increased while many times of passengers will be wasted if the toll system is introduced,” the BNP leader observed.

He said though the government used to talk about massive development, it is actually imposing the huge load of tax and VAT on people due to its policy of ‘plundering’.

Rizvi said the government has increased the taxes of city corporations and municipalities, holding taxes and the tariffs of utility services. “Not only that, people have to pay the government for communicating through mobile phones. In fact, the government is depleting the country’s resources.”

He voiced deep concern that the killing of Bangladeshis and repression on them by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) along the border have marked a rise. “Especially, BSF showed s brutal attitude towards some Bangladeshis recently detained by them along north-western border which is violation of the international law.”

The BNP leader said BSF has long been killing and persecuting Bangladeshis detained by them at different times instead of taking legal action.

Referring to human rights bodies’ statistics, he said 18 Bangladeshis were killed by BSF in the last six months.

Rizvi alleged that though the killing of Bangladeshis by the Indian border force is growing, the government is silent over the issue. “Even, ministers and MPs are talking in favour of BSF instead of registering any strong protest.”

He said the incidents of border killing would have come down had the government strongly risen its voice against such act. “The border is not getting secure due to the government’s knee-jerk foreign policy. We strongly condemn such a policy of the government.”

Source: unb