Banning of rickshaw

Md Nurul Islam Sohel Dhaka is such a city where the ambulance carrying a dying patient has to wait at a traffic signal because some VIP may be passing through the road. For solving the problem of traffic jam different types of measures, most of them short term, are taken. But they do little to serve the purpose. It can be clearly seen that no feasible long-term plan has been taken to resolve the problem. The number of registered rickshaws in Dhaka city is around 100,000 but actually the number is more than 300,000. The reason follows the rules of necessity. Due to lack of public transport the demand for rickshaw has gone up and villagers have poured into Dhaka. So, the cause of this increasing number of rickshaws is imprudent traffic management. Rickshaws are banned on some roads. That's good. But is there any alternative means of transport which is available and affordable? Not at all. So, the commuters with the help of rickshaw pullers have discovered the alternative ways to reach their destination because necessity is the mother of invention. As a result, traffic congestion does not stop; rather changes the direction from the main road to streets and alleys. Instead of banning rickshaws, should not we think about freeing the occupied foot paths and indiscriminate parking of cars? In a recent survey it was seen that about 70 per cent of high-rise public buildings don't have any parking lots at all? What didthe authority concerned do for that? How were they allowed to erect the buildings? It is a common practice of our authority to keep silent when the construction is going on and after some time it knocks the structure down. This is not an intelligent management but waste of time, labour and resources of the nation. After all plying of rickshaws has some merits too. It has created huge employment for the extreme poor. It is environment-friendly and does not consume any fuel at all. Apparently, it may seem that rickshaws are mainly responsible for traffic jam but in real sense it's not true. Rickshaws are not anything new in many cities of developed countries though their design is different from ours. Someone may argue that rickshaw is very old-fashioned and tarnishesthe image of the capital city. Do not forget the inaugural ceremony of World Cup cricket 2011 held in Dhaka where boats and rickshaws were displayed as symbol of our nation's tradition. Was it for making fun withthe poor? Experts say, 25 per cent of the city space should be allocated on roads in city whereas we have only 7.50 per cent. Moreover, 30 per cent of these roads are occupied by illegal makeshift shops, peddlers, and parked cars. Lack of sufficient public transport is another problem we are facing. We cannot deny that private car also negatively impact traffic flow. Seethe design of luxurious cars. One third of the whole car cannot be used for accommodation purpose. Moreover, the

remaining two-thirds capacity cannot be fully utilised. So, on an average only one third space of a car serves the ultimate purpose of transportation. Solvent people in our country who can afford to own cars deserve to enjoy the luxury, but what about the infrastructure of the city? It seems that there are people who can afford cars, but the city cannot accommodate them.
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?date=2012-03-16&news_id=123562