New plan to regulate battery-powered rickshaws

Photo: Collected

News Desk: Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Administrator Md. Abdus Salam has said that the government has adopted a new plan to regulate battery-powered and motorized rickshaws in Dhaka. An initiative is being taken to designate specific factories for manufacturing battery-powered rickshaws in order to stop unauthorized production in random locations.

He made the disclosure on Thursday (August 13) while responding to questions from journalists after the pilot launch of a modern automated traffic signal system (AI signal) at Shahbagh intersection in the capital.

Abdus Salam said that authorized autorickshaws and motorized rickshaws will not be allowed to be manufactured just anywhere. Specific factories will be designated for Dhaka city, and permission from the relevant authorities will be required to manufacture rickshaws at those facilities.

He said the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) will provide technical assistance in this regard. Production will be permitted only after the designated factories have been approved and their technical aspects have been verified.

He also announced plans to gradually transition battery-powered rickshaws to electric-powered systems. A specific timeframe will be set for this purpose, and initiatives will be taken to convert battery-powered rickshaws to electric systems within that timeframe. The use of solar power is also being considered as part of the plan.

The DSCC administrator said that increasing the use of solar energy could reduce pressure on the electricity supply. He added that the government has an overall plan in this regard and that it would be implemented gradually.

He said that simply enforcing the law would not be enough to reduce traffic congestion and disorder in Dhaka; city residents would also need to become more aware and responsible. He urged people to give the government time, saying that steps would gradually be taken to address the city’s long-standing problems.

Earlier, the modern automated traffic signal system was launched on a trial basis at Shahbagh intersection. As part of efforts to modernize traffic management in Dhaka, initiatives have been taken to introduce similar signal systems at 20 more important intersections initially.