There has been a complaint of collecting extra toll from buyers and sellers in different local markets (haats) under Santhia upazila of Pabna district.
The victims have complained to the department concerned but are frustrated without getting any redressal.
Locals who go to different markets said the lessees of Miapur-Bangram, Chaturhat, Kashinathpur, R-Ataikula, Dhulauri, etc. haats (markets) in the upazila are collecting extra tolls from the buyers and sellers.
On last Friday at Dhulauri haat in the upazila, it was seen that the persons appointed by the lessee were collecting half a kg of onion for each maund of the vegetable and half a kg of paddy for each maund of the crop from people. Buyers and sellers are claiming that the lessee’s men are collecting extra tolls without paying attention to the government regulations.
Abdus Samad, a farmer of Dhulauri village, said that he had to bring a sack of 42 kgs of onions to the market for sale on Friday. As the reason, he said, one kg for the wholesaler buyer and half a kg for toll collector. If the weight is a little less, then the price of a kg has to be cut.
He lamented that the current price of a kg onion is Tk 100. He questioned, “If we give one kg of onion, what will we have?” Some other onion sellers said that instead of giving 1 kg of raw onion, they had to bring extra 2 kgs of onions for per maund of the crop. “If you bring dry onions to the market, you have to pay 1 kg every time for per maund. Besides, half a kg of onion is being collected by the men of lessee in the market. In this regard, the men appointed by the lessee are collecting additional tolls even though we have given verbal and written complaints to the Upazila Nirbahi Officer,” said a farmer.
A wholesale buyer said, “We are paying Tk 6.5 as toll for each maund of crop. We don't know whether toll can be collected from the seller or not. However, the lessee's people are collecting extra toll from onion and paddy market at the rate of half a kg.”
In this regard, Zarif Ahmed, the lessee of Dhulauri Haat, said, “We are collecting toll according to the government rules. My people are collecting toll from the haat in the same way the previous lessees collected toll from there.”
Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Zahidul Islam said, “There is no written complaint. Prompt action would have been taken on getting complaints. However, legal action will be taken if the lessees do not collect toll as per the government rules.”
