Battery-powered rickshaws in sudden hiding!

The Dhaka Times Desk Battery-powered rickshaws plying the streets of the capital have suddenly gone into hiding. Currently, the evacuation operation of all these battery operated rickshaws is going on. These rickshaws were plying freely on the roads for the past few years as a result of the pending legal decision.

The Joint Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Traffic) said in this context, due to legal complications, the eviction operation on this battery-powered rickshaw was stopped from last January. At present there is no obstacle in this eviction drive by the High Court, so the eviction has been started again. Earlier, with the launch of these battery-powered rickshaws, there was a mixed reaction about these rickshaws in various circles. It is said from various quarters that these rickshaws are one of the reasons behind the shortage of electricity. Because the batteries of these rickshaws consume a lot of electricity. But it was not possible to stop their movement on the roads due to the low-level officers of law enforcement and political patronage. In addition to this, in the month of January last January, under the banner of the Rickshaw-Van Owners' Struggle Council, a case was filed in the High Court demanding the license of these rickshaws.

The joint commissioner of DMP (traffic) also said that on May 9, when the high court ruled that there was no obstacle in the eviction operation, the eviction operation started again. According to sources from various garages in the capital, most of the battery-powered rickshaws have been sent outside the city. And in some cases the motor of the rickshaw has been removed. The last rickshaw license was issued in 1982 in the capital Dhaka. Accordingly, the number of legal rickshaws in the capital is about 86 thousand. Dhaka City Corporation gives opportunity to renew valid rickshaw license every year. But according to information from various quarters, the number of rickshaws in Dhaka is over one lakh, most of them are illegal. According to Dhaka City Corporation sources, BRTA identifies this vehicle as a dangerous vehicle. And the city corporation cannot issue the license for this vehicle as it is motorized.

The Deputy Director of BRTA said that even though the vehicle is powered by an engine, it cannot be brought under the motor vehicle category as it is not as fast and safe as other motorized vehicles. But in the last three years, about 40 thousand illegal rickshaws started plying on the streets of the capital.