Chittagong Metropoliton Police (CMP) has asked for toll-free facility for 23 types of vehicles to carry out various activities including rescue operations inside Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman tunnel. At the same time, four vehicles have been sought for quick response to any incident.
Officers' vehicles going on personal errands will be subject to toll. But toll-free facility has been sought for 23 types of vehicles going to various tunnel work including accidents.Since the opening of the Bangabandhu Tunnel, there have been recent incidents of car racing, speeding buses pushing behind private cars, taking selfies inside the tunnel and losing control and crashing into the toll plaza barrier.
Chittagong City Police Deputy Commissioner (Estate and Development) SM Mostain Hossain said that a letter has been sent to the Roads and Bridges Department in this regard recently.
The tunnel was opened for public traffic from the day after its inauguration on October 28, last year. The Navy is in charge of the overall security of the tunnel. But the police do legal work on various issues including managing accidents inside the tunnel.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) SM Mostain Hossain said, the police were called to manage accidents at various times inside the tunnel. All police vehicles entering the tunnel except those of OC of Patenga and Karnaphuli police stations, have to pay toll.
A letter has been sent to the Roads and Bridges Department to keep 23 vehicles toll-free in the port zone of the Traffic and Crime Department of the CMP for conducting operational activities. A letter was sent in January but no response has yet been received.
He said that if any officer's vehicles enter the tunnel for personal work, he will have to pay toll. Only 23 types of vehicles that will be used for operational purposes have been asked to provide toll-free facility.
Vehicles seeking toll-free facility are - Traffic and Crime Department Port Zone Officers, Patrol Vehicles, Ambulances, Wreckers and Force vehicles.
The DC said, “Toll has to be paid for crossing different bridges. But accidents on bridges and accidents inside tunnels are different. If there is an accident in the tunnel, it has to be managed quickly. We have a vehicle crisis. In case of any incident inside the tunnel, it takes time for the force to reach the spot from the police station, so we have asked to keep four vehicles standby at each end of the tunnel so that the police can move quickly for any incident-accident. Hence, four double cabin vehicles have been sought for operational use in the tunnel. If a vehicle falls in an accident inside the tunnel, the police also have to pay a toll if it is recovered”.
“If you enter the tunnel through the Patenga end, you have to exit at the other end. As a result, the vehicles of Patenga police station that enter the tunnel have to come back through the other end. Due to which toll has to be paid both at the entrance and exit of the tunnel. We go for government work, there is no money allocated for toll. But except for Patenga and Karnaphuli police station OC vehicles, all other vehicles have to pay toll for entering and exiting the tunnel”, the DC added.
It should be noted that the Bangladesh government has implemented this project to build 'One City Two Towns' on the two banks of the Karnaphuli River, on the model of Shanghai, China. Jointly financed by Bangladesh and China, the initial cost of the tunnel project was estimated at Tk 9,880 crore. Two years after approval, when the project started in December 2017, the cost was increased to Tk 10,374 crore.
This tunnel has been built with the aim of establishing a connection with the Asian Highway and building a new road communication system between Dhaka-Chittagong-Cox's Bazar. The construction work was done by the Chinese company 'China Communication Construction Limited (CCCL).
The Navy is responsible for the security of this tunnel. The proposal to build two police stations at both ends of the tunnel has already been sent to the cabinet division by Chittagong city police.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the tunnel on October 28, last year. The next day it was opened to the public.
