People with disabilities who serve as the sole breadwinners for their families are urging the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to establish specific standards for battery-run rickshaws and ensure safety measures in their design.
Sohel Rana, president of Jagaran Pratibandhi Kalyan Sangstha, voiced this demand on behalf of disabled rickshaw-pullers during a discussion titled 'Rickshaw Debate and Actions to be Taken in Road Transport in Modern Urban Management,' held at the National Press Club in the capital on Wednesday (October 30).
The event, jointly organised by Ganamukti Mancha, Jagaran Pratibandhi Kalyan Sangstha, and B-Scan, saw participation from over 100 disabled and elderly rickshaw drivers.
The participants expressed their desire to work rather than beg, emphasizing the humiliation their children face when they do so. “We want to earn by working. Our children are humiliated when they go to school or play. We don’t want to bow down. We want to drive battery-run rickshaws where pedal rickshaws and horse carts operate. Give us a separate license,” said one rickshaw-puller.
In a written statement, Sohel Rana outlined several key demands, including the approval of a specific design for battery-operated rickshaws by the BRTA.
He also called for the registration of rickshaws based on the population density of each ward in city corporations and municipalities, a quota of at least 10 percent for disabled drivers during registration, and the establishment of government-approved charging stations similar to petrol pumps.
Additionally, Rana urged for the registration process to include the provision of authorisation cards for rickshaw operations and the facilitation of easy installment plans for purchasing battery-run rickshaws. He also highlighted the need to curb extortion by political and muscle power on the roads.
Other speakers included Salma Mahbub, General Secretary of B-Scan, and Zainal Abedin Joy, Managing Director of Tiger New Energy Co. Sakib Pratyay, Chief Coordinator of Ganamukti Mancha conducted the event.