He also directed to serve show-cause notices on three engineers of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) in Chittagong for their negligence towards duties.
The order came upon a sudden visit of the railway minister. He visited the railway station around noon and ordered General Manager Md Taffazzol Hossain of Bangladesh Railway (East Zone) to transfer six security personnel, including RNB Inspector AKM Saleh Patwary, and all 14 booking clerks to remote and less important stations as soon as possible.
The decision was made based on allegations of ticket scalping, the minister told reporters at the station, adding that no other place in the country suffer more from ticket scalping than the port city.
“Chittagong has the worst record of such practice. There used to be a nexus among the railway staff of the security and commercial departments, and scalpers” he said.
The minister further said a circular train would be launched in Chittagong by February-March next year to ease traffic jam. Initiatives had already been taken in this regard, he added.
However, train fare would be increased after Eid-ul-Fitr in line with recommendations made by a parliamentary committee, informed Obaidul.
The RHD officials, to whom the show-cause notices had been ordered to be issued, are Executive Engineer of Chittagong division Rana Priyo Barua, Sub-Divisional Engineer Julfiquar Ahmed and Superintend Engineer Zia Uddin.
The minister ordered RHD Chief Executive Engineer Aminur Rahman Laskor over the phone to issue show-cause letters when he was visiting the Oxygen-Hathazari and Bhatiari-Borodighir Paar roads around 10:0am. He told the RHD high-up that his officials were “not fair and gave him [Obaidul] false report” on road condition.
Obaidul said although heavy downpour had done some damage to the roads, the RHD officials did not do the repairing. They thought he [the minister] would only visit the Oxygen-Hathazari road, but he made a sudden decision to visit the Bhatiari-Borodighir Paar road and found out the dilapidated condition of the roads, added the minister.
He ordered repair of the roads within three days.
In the morning, Obaidul went to see the progress of the project on upgrading the Oxygen-Hathazari road to four lanes. There he told newsmen that they could not go further with the project as the Power Development Board had not moved electric poles along the road, although his ministry had paid PDB the due for the shifting.
TICKET SCALPER HELD
The Railway Nirapatta Bahini (RNB) yesterday held an alleged scalper with 17 tickets from Chittagong Railway Station.
Detained Ruhul Amin, 40, is from Dushkhali under Bamna Police Station of Barguna district.
RNB in-charge AKM Saleh Patwari caught Ruhul red-handed in front of ticket counter No-7 around 6:30am, claimed Suhon Kanti Barua, acting officer-in-charge of railway police outpost in Chittagong.
A case had been lodged with the railway police station in this connection, added Suhon Kanti.
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