3,000 battery-run rickshaws seized in Ctg this month
Like in Dhaka, the roads of Chattogram have also seen an overcrowding of battery-run rickshaws amid weakened traffic management after the ouster of the past government in 2024
Highlights:
- Seized rickshaws dumped at Mansurabad police lines
- Law enforcement aiding district admin in drives
- Battery-run rickshaws deemed illegal by law
- Rickshaw drivers protest, but drives continue
Chattogram district administration, in cooperation with the traffic division, confiscated over 3,000 battery-run rickshaws in 22 days since 1 April during drives to restore discipline on roads. The rickshaws have been dumped on the premises of the Mansurabad police lines.
"A total of 3,096 battery-run rickshaws have been seized in the first 22 days of April," Deputy Commissioner at Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Media Wing, Mahmuda Begum, told TBS.
She mentioned that the rickshaw drivers protested against the crackdown. "However, the drives will continue."
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Mahmuda further said law enforcers are assisting the executive magistrates of the district administration to operate drives.
Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Farida Khanam told TBS that the drives have helped to curb the movement of battery-run rickshaws to some extent. "Such rickshaws are illegal as per the law."
In addition, drives have been carried out at the charging stations of the rickshaws, she added.
Like in Dhaka, the roads of Chattogram have also seen an overcrowding of battery-run rickshaws amid weakened traffic management after the ouster of the past government in 2024.
DC Farida Khatun further said they will sit with the deputy inspector general, commissioner of the metropolitan police and the superintendent of police and rickshaw owners to discuss the shutdown of the factories where the vehicles are assembled.
Talking to TBS, Chattogram City Rickshaw Owners' Federation General Secretary Md Siddique Mia said the imposition of a ban or confiscation of battery-run autorickshaws is not a sustainable solution unless measures are taken regarding the livelihood of the people in the sector.
Alleging that the rickshaw drivers' protest was foiled by the police and army yesterday, he urged the administration to step back from such a stance.
Siddique mentioned that to restore discipline on roads under a policy, they earlier wrote to the city corporation and the police, which yielded no response.
According to him, the number of rickshaws operating within the port city is approximately 50,000.
