Unauthorised Rickshaws
For the past couple of years the number of unauthorised rickshaws has registered an alarming rise causing hindrance to smooth movement of motorised vehicles and thereby clogging the roads to create massive traffic jams at important and busy junctions all over the metropolis. This menacing trend may be attributed to two clear-cut factors: (a) migration of young workforce from rural areas for lack of local employment opportunities and (b) callous and corrupt practices adopted by the city corporation employees and law enforcing agencies. By the admission of BRTA itself 'more than four lakh non-motorised vehicles, mainly rickshaws are now plying on the city roads'. This is in sharp contrast to the figures given by the DCC which claims that there are only 80,000 licensed rickshaws in the city. How come more than 300,000 are using the city roads without proper authorisation from the DCC? These rickshaws have been crowding the roads with tokens procured from various Samities and Leagues on payment of some money, which pass as permits under the nose of authorities. This is a very recent development known to all but nobody wants to bell the cat.
The sudden change of attitude of the DMP on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr to nab unauthorised rickshaws has caught media attention. There has always been a certain intrusion of additional rickshaws from the adjoining areas like Savar, Aminbazar, Manikganj, Tongi during the Ramadan with the already bad traffic congestion of the city getting worse. We strongly feel that the DCC and the DMP should honestly perform their assigned job of keeping the roads free from unauthorised vehicles.
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