Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayor Atiqul Islam says the government's decision to outlaw three-wheeler rickshaws and vans on three major thoroughfares in the capital will continue.
“As we [government] have declared it illegal, these [rickshaw-vans] will not run here,” he said at a meeting with leaders and representatives of ‘rickshaw -van associations,’ at his office on Wednesday (Jul 10).
Gulshan and Uttara police deputy commissioners (DCs), traffic police officials, city corporation councilors for the DNCC, and DNCC city officials were present at the meeting.
He urged people to accept the temporary sufferings due to the ban, assuring citizens of other transportation alternatives.
Mayor Atiqul also asked the people concerned not to get confused by the ban.
He reassured that the ban does not apply to the by-lane from Pragati Swarani to Khilgaon, but he made it clear that no unregistered rickshaws or vans would run there.
Mayor Atiqul Islam said there are around 2,300km of roadways in Dhaka city.
“We have outlawed three-wheeler rickshaws and vans from only 15km of those roads which is less than 0.70%," he said.
Defending the government's ban on rickshaws, Atiqul said, “To the people sowing confusion, I say, rickshaws and vans have access to other roads."
About those who use rickshaws on a regular basis, he said the DNCC will introduce franchise bus services on particular city routes in an effort to address the growing demand for public transport.
The mayor also highlighted some of the steps to be taken by DNCC to harmonize three wheeler rickshaw and van operations in the city.
Rickshaw and van owners will be required: to keep their three-wheelers in the garage, to have a QR code for each rickshaw or van in order to identify registered ones easily, to develop a database of rickshaw and van pullers, and to introduce a standard uniform for them in each ward.
The Dhaka North mayor also urged the removal of illegal and makeshift structures from footpaths in order to make them easily accessible to pedestrians.
Dhaka city authorities have made some roads in the city off-limits for rickshaws in an effort to discipline chaotic traffic.
The roads off limits for rickshaws are Mirpur road running from Gabtali to Azimpur, Elephant road from the Science Lab Crossing to Shahbagh, and the road from Kuril to the Syedabad Bus Terminal running through Badda, Rampura, and Khilgaon.
These are the roads initially picked for the ban, effective Jul 7.
Taking issue with the ban, a large number of rickshaw-pullers blocked Dhaka roads on Monday and Tuesday, demanding the city authorities reverse the ban on rickshaw traffic on the three important roads in the capital.