Locals, shopkeepers, ferry workers and motorists in both ghats on the Padma allege the gangs are operating in connivance with police, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) employees.

The BIWTC is responsible for operating the ferry, while the BIWTA looks after the landing facilities.

Both the departments' failure to maintain a smooth ferry service is apparent at every stage of the operation. For instance, when a vehicle arrives at Mawa or at Char Zanazat, there is no mechanism in hand to know where in the ghats, which are quite a distance away from each other, a ferry is available. The drivers have to use their guesswork and hop from ghat to ghat on the potholed roads before finding a ferry.

"When finally we find a ferry we are asked to maintain a serial, which never comes until we pay money to these ruffians," said the driver of a cement laden truck travelling to Barisal. "The ferries operating here are also rundown and very slow and therefore each trip takes up to two and a half hours to cross the river both way," he added.

According to BIWTC Dhaka office, every day over 1,000 vehicles cross the Padma from Mawa, while another 1,000 vehicles take Char Zanazat-Mawa route. Almost 80 percent of these vehicles are trucks, buses and microbuses.

The BIWTC earns about a million taka every day from the two ghats. Moreover, up to 50,000 people individually use the ferries to cross the river towards Dhaka and towards the south and southwestern parts of the country each paying Tk 10 for the so-called terminal facilities.

Recently, the Zila Parishad of Faridpur has introduced a terminal tax of Tk 7 for each passenger using the Char Zanazat side of the ferry.

The gangs are so powerful that anyone refusing to pay them is instantly barred from taking the ferry and subjected to an indefinite delay to board another. At times the ruffians even damage the wheels of the vehicles by sharp weapons. The drivers said extortion came to a halt for about three weeks following the declaration of the emergency state. But the activities of the gangs slowly resumed.

"I have to use this route almost every week, I don't want to risk my life for 200 taka. So I pay them on both sides of the ferry before boarding," said a truck driver asking not to be named.

An official of the joint forces in Faridpur said they were in pursuit of the Char Zanazat hoodlums and extortionists after the declaration of emergency state. They also arrested four alleged members of the extortionists' gang.

"During our initial undercover investigation we found out that the police, BIWTC and BIWTA officials had a solid understanding with the local hoodlums to extort huge amounts of money every day. We knew it would be difficult to crack the nut," said an official requesting anonymity.

"Every body knew it. Even the youths we arrested confessed sharing the money but there was no evidence left behind these deals that had been in practice for years," he added.

Other sources said these gangs also subject hundreds of makeshift shops on both sides of the ghats to regular tolls.

"The ferry users on their way to different destinations are yet to grow a confidence in the law and order and the criminal opportunists take full advantage of this lacking," said the official of the joint forces.

The BIWTC officials said ferry services at Mawa and Char Zanazat are not satisfactory since they lack proper communication devices.

"All the 10 walkie-talkies are out of order for the last one year. Despite repeated reminders we have not received the repaired sets yet," said an official.