Momtaz uddin:
‎The recent raids by law enforcement agencies on various bars in Uttara, the capital, have raised various questions in the public mind. Despite claiming to conduct business in accordance with government rules and regulations, many traders have now been held hostage to the immoral demands of an unscrupulous circle. According to relevant sources, this influential circle is capitalizing on the situation and carrying out illegal activities to obtain illegal benefits.
‎’Paytaras’ behind the raids
‎Investigations revealed that a kind of panic is being created in the name of regular supervision in the authorized bars located in various sectors of Uttara. Traders allege that despite having a license from the Narcotics Control Department and all the necessary official legalities including VAT-tax, they are being harassed in various ways. Basically, a special group is trying to extract huge sums of money or unethical benefits by threatening the raid.
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Businessmen held hostage
‎A bar owner from Uttara, who did not want to be named, said, “We are doing business by depositing the prescribed fee in the government treasury. The bars with valid licenses have been paying the highest revenue to the government every month. But since the raid, some people have been contacting us directly and indirectly. They say that it will be difficult to survive in business if the benefits are not provided at a fixed rate. On the one hand, the fear of the raid, on the other hand, the pressure from these unscrupulous circles – all of this together – we are now held hostage.”
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‎Business environment and legality
‎Uttara bars mainly serve foreign tourists and licensed customers. Most of the establishments follow the specified time limits and rules as per the government policies. Also, it is quite difficult to have irregularities as there is regular monitoring by the Department of Narcotics Control. However, this ‘hostage politics’ of unscrupulous circles is not only causing financial losses to businessmen, but is also threatening the discipline of this sector.
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‎Stakeholders’ statement
‎Aware citizens in this regard believe that campaigns are definitely necessary to suppress crime or prevent irregularities. However, it is important for the administration to keep a vigilant eye on this campaign so that no third party gets a chance to benefit from it. In addition, whenever the government is active in the anti-drug campaign, the administration easily conducts raids on licensed bars, arrests a few people and advertises them in the media, but the real deadly drugs – yaba, phensedyl, heroin, cocaine – are being sold at a brisk pace. The teenage gangs are out of reach, and the victims are the licensed bar traders, who are the most important partners in generating revenue for the country.
The big challenge now is to ensure that no businessmen are harassed outside the transparent investigation and legal framework.
It can be seen on the ground that some opportunistic people from Uttara are trying to create a mob after the raid on the combi bar. They are disrupting the business activities of the bars by creating human chains, using microphones and shouting illegal slogans at the government-approved/high court-approved bars while they are conducting their business activities. Some videos published in the media have also shown them threatening to slaughter the businessmen if they resist. On the other hand, some terrorists known as the juvenile gang have started behaving recklessly. The businessmen say that when these juvenile gangs are not allowed to enter the bars, they try to create a mob under the bar. Although there are multiple cases against them, they remain out of reach for unknown reasons.
In this situation, it can be seen on the spot that due to the administration’s raids, arrests, and mob fear, the number of customers in the bars has almost decreased. A businessman with a liquor permit (who did not want to be named) said – he is a garment trader for export products. He regularly has to enter the bar with the buyers to please his foreign buyers. But on the day of the raid, the media freely entered the bar and published videos of the permit holders, which has humiliated them socially. Due to this, they are no longer entering the bar.
Another customer complained – restaurants and bars sell food besides alcohol, he faced harassment from the administration even though he went to eat food without drinking alcohol.
It is worth noting that alcohol is an import, export, production and saleable product in Bangladesh.
Government revenue from the sale of alcohol is much higher than any other product. In almost all Muslim countries of the world, including Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, the Maldives, alcohol has been legalized to protect the tourism industry and protect the youth from Yaba, Ice, Cocaine, Heroin and other drugs. In Bangladesh, alcohol was never a prohibited product, but rather it is a contraband product, which is only allowed to be consumed in authorized bars under strict surveillance by the Narcotics Control Department. A search of the revenue office revealed that a huge amount of revenue is collected from these bars in Uttara every month. In the last three fiscal years, the amount is more than hundreds of crores of taka.
But in the past few days, the beer industry in Uttara has come to a standstill due to raids, arrests and mob fear, which has led to loss of government revenue, obstacles in the garment industry, and the lives of about 5,000 people employed in bars in Uttara have become uncertain.
Bars in Bangladesh are mainly operated according to the Narcotics Control Act 2018 and the Alcohol Rules 2022. After the police raid on the Combi Bar, the Bangladesh Hotel and Bar Association protested, calling the raid illegal. Later, the DMP Media Cell issued a press release claiming that they had conducted a legal raid.
After mutual explanations from both sides, the senior lawyer of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. When asked about the law, he said that according to Section 23 of the Narcotics Control Act, no agency other than the Narcotics Control Department can raid licensed premises. Of course, the police have the power to raid any place other than licensed premises.
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‎The affected businessmen are seeking the intervention of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the high-level administration to maintain a stable business environment in the Uttara area and stop the activities of the extortionist gang. They believe that it is the state’s responsibility to provide security to businessmen who abide by the rules, so that no unscrupulous syndicate can take advantage of government systems.
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