Ban on rickshaws on three city routes comes into force from Sunday
The decision was taken to ease traffic congestion
The ban on rickshaws on three routes in the capital is coming into effect from Sunday.
To regulate rickshaws, six city corporation teams each led by an executive magistrate will operate mobile courts on the routes, meandering from Gabtoli to Azimpur via Asad Gate, from Science Lab Crossing to Shahbagh through Bata intersection and from Kuril to Syedabad Bus Terminal through Badda, Rampura and Khilgaon.
Dhaka North Mayor Md Atiqul Islam said this at a press briefing after emerging from a half-day-long meeting with chiefs of law enforcement agencies and councillors at his office in the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) on Saturday.
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“From tomorrow [July 7], rickshaws will no longer be allowed to ply the [three] routes. DNCC teams will be present there to regulate rickshaws along with freeing footpaths from encroachers,” said the mayor.
In an effort to discipline chaotic traffic in the city, a committee led by Dhaka South Mayor Sayeed Khokon on July 3 took a decision to impose ban on rickshaws plying three routes.
“Our country is getting developed day by day. We must move forward from the manual system to step into the mechanical one to improve the city. Manual and mechanical systems on roads cannot go simultaneously,” Atiqul said.
He said a public notice has already been served, asking all to keep footpaths free from illegal occupation.
He also said illegal CNG auto-rickshaws and human haulers will gradually be removed from the city roads, as these vehicles, alongside human-pedalled rickshaws, are equally responsible for traffic congestion in Dhaka.
However, DNCC Rickshaw Owners Association demanded a separate lane, alongside the main roads, for licensed rickshaws.
“We support the DNCC plan to ban illegal rickshaws from city roads. But for those which are licensed, DNCC should devise a better plan,” said Momin Ali, joint secretary of the Rickshaw Owners Association.
The streets of Dhaka are crowded by around 2,25,000 rickshaws, of which around 1,40,000 have no legal documents.
