Battery-run rickshaws menacing Ctg city

The number of unlicensed battery-run rickshaws is rapidly increasing in Chittagong city, causing accidents on a regular basis as their high speed does not match with the structure.
These rickshaws are operated by rechargeable batteries and consume a huge amount of electricity.
However, the High Court has put a stay order on any action against such rickshaws following writ petitions filed by owners, seeking the vehicles' unhindered movement, on different dates since March 2013.
Md Jamal Uddin, assistant director of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, Chittagong, said the rickshaws were risky because they often lost balance for their inconsistent structure.
Chittagong Medical College Hospital sources said one person had been killed and at least 12 others injured in road accidents caused by the battery-powered rickshaws since January this year.
Moreover, many remain unaccounted for as they took primary treatment from local dispensaries.
According to different associations of drivers and owners of such rickshaws, around 50,000 unlicensed battery-run rickshaws are now plying the port city streets. In 2012, the number was only 300.
Md Taslim, president of Chittagong Mahanagari Rickshaw Chalak-Malik Samannay Sangram Parishad, said battery-run rickshaws were responsible for frequent accidents and demanded the immediate removal of these vehicles from the city.
Admitting the fact, Md Abdul Quader Majumder, president of Chittagong Rickshaw and Battery-run Rickshaw Chalak-Malik Sangram Parishad, said they were making the drivers aware of accidents.
He claimed that the number of such accidents was decreasing gradually.
Terming the battery-run rickshaws unauthorised and hazardous, Jamal Uddin said BRTA was ready to take measures against the battery-run rickshaws but was restrained by the HC stay order.
Ahmadul Huq, chief revenue officer of Chittagong City Corporation, echoed him.
Faruk Ahmed, deputy commissioner (traffic) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police, said initially they took action against the rickshaws by seizing a few of those.