DHAKA: Every year, a huge quantity of scraps pile up after assembling automobiles at Pragoti Industries Ltd, the country’s lone state-run automobile assembling industry located in Chittagong’s Sitakunda.
The automobile assembling industry is supposed to sell out the piled up scraps to the highest bidder after floating tender.
Accordingly, Pragoti Industries Ltd had floated a tender in December of 2014 for selling around 170 tonnes of automobile scraps and Ms Mannan Iron Mart obtained the work order as the highest bidder at Tk90 lakh.
Although more than one year has passed, the contractor could not receive the scraps from the industry. It is alleged that Atiqur Rahman, CBA president of Pragoti Industries Ltd is standing in the way of delivering the scraps for Tk30 lakh as toll from the contractor.
The Dhaka Tribune has obtained a 34-minutes long telephonic conversation between the contractor and the CBA President where Atiqur demanded Tk30 lakh from the contractor for delivering the scrap.
“You [contractor] will have to pay Tk30 lakh in total well ahead of receiving the scraps. Tk10 lakh is for the association, Tk10 lakh for the cooperatives and Tk10 lakh for me,’ demanded Atiqur Rahman in the conversation.
“You [contractor] need not worry about it. I will manage everything so that you could receive additional scraps amounting to Tk60 lakh so that you could recoup your loss,” said Atiqur in the conversation.
To settle the issue, the Pragoti authorities had formed a committee to investigate into the allegations leveled against the CBA leader. However, the probe body failed to tender its report in the past one year.
“I have been awarded with the work order as the highest bidder. I have already paid off Tk5 lakh for purchasing the scraps. However, it is Atiqur Rahman, the CBA president of Pragoti Industries Ltd who is demanding Tk30 lakh as toll from me for receiving the scrap. The CBA leader also threatened me that he would not let me collect the scraps if I did not comply with his demand,” alleged MA Mannan, proprietor of Ms Mannan Iron Mart.
“The CBA president has held the automobile assembling industry hostage. None in the industry dares to speak against the crooked CBA leader. Finding no other way, I had recourse to the court. I had also lodged a written a complaint against him to the authorities of Bangladesh steel and Engineering Corporation (BSEC) on May 22 last year,” added Mannan.
Apart from demanding extortion, the CBA president is allegedly involved with many irregularities, including manipulating recruitment process of the workers and issuing threat to the officers and employees of Pragoti Industries Ltd.
Brushing aside the allegations of demanding extortion from the contractor, Atiqur Rahman, the CBA president of Pragoti Industries Ltd said a quarter with vested interest was plotting against him.
“The allegations brought against me are purely hypothetical. There is not a grain of truth in the allegations,” said the CBA leader.
Imtiaz Hossain Chowdhury, chairman of Bangladesh steel and Engineering Corporation (BSEC), said: “A body headed by the BSEC secretary Masud Ahmed was formed to probe the allegations against the CBA leader. The probe committee is yet to submit its report.”
Kaykobad Al Mamun, engineer of Pragoti Industries Ltd, said: “Using his ruling party affiliation, the CBA leader misbehaved with me. I had lodged a General Diary on May 18 last year against the CBA leader with police for threatening me with dire consequences. I had also lodged a written complaint to the Pragoti authorities against him for intimidating me on May 14 last year.”
