Look before you leap

Shahbagh Crossing will become off-limits to rickshaws for smooth flow of traffic. PHOTO: Syed Zakir Hossain

Bangladesh Transport Foundation (BTF) organised a meeting recently with members of different professions at the Teachers Training College to exchange views on the impending ban on non-motorised vehicles (NMV) on the stretch of road between Kalabagan and Azimpur.

Commuters, rickshaw-pullers and businessmen pointed out their problems and sufferings and urged the policymakers to consider their opinion before restricting the movement of non-motorised vehicles on major roads in the capital.

The organisers assured them of passing on their views to the authorities concerned.

Policymakers, planners, local administration officials and citizens also took part in the discussion.

The BTF also formed a committee to help implement the projects of freeing NMVs from city roads.

"The planners should keep provisions for goods carrying vehicles to move because we carry most of our materials on NMVs," said one trader of Chandni Chawk Market.

"Besides, our customers who come by rickshaws, should also have access to the market," he added.

Booksellers at Nilkhet market also fear a loss of customers once the ban is implemented from January 1, 2004.

"Most of our customers are from the middle and lower middle class and travel by rickshaws," said a representative of Nilkhet Babupura Book Selling Samity.

Some local commuters are apprehensive of the move.

"We may not find any proper transport to go to the university if NMVs are not available on this road," said Jasmine, a Dhaka University student.

"Women are major commuters along this route since they throng the markets on the main road. This ban should not be activated before installing more bus-stoppages and ensuring secured footpaths," said Nasima Mannan, a local ward commissioner.

The capital has almost 5 lakh rickshaws informed an official of Dhaka Transport Co-ordination Board (DTCB).

However, only 80,000 of those have legal papers, according to the wheel tax department of Dhaka City Corporation (DCC). DCC has not issued licence to rickshaws after 1986 and the renewal date ended on June 30 last year.

Dhaka Metropolitan Traffic Police (DMP), along with the DCC, started a drive to catch illegal rickhaws in the city from September this year.

Two roads, which were supposed to be made off-limit to rickshaw in phases between November and December this year, will now be freed of NMV's from January 1 as the authorities found it inconvenient to impose the ban during the Ramadan and Eid.

The thoroughfares are the roads stretching from Science Laboratory through Elephant Road, Shahbagh and National Press Club to College Road next to Bangabazar, and Kalabagan to Azimpur via New Market.

Dhaka Urban Transport Project (DUTP), mostly funded by the World Bank, also plans to make six more routes NMV free by 2005.