Rickshaw free capital
I strongly support the opinion and ideas of Mr. Mohammed Rahat to make Dhaka, the capital city, free of rickshaws. The mega city Dhaka is the most densely populated city on earth but the minimum urban amenities are not there. Mr. Rahat has elaborated the issue from all important angles and showed the way out. I would like to reinforce his arguments by adding the following:
Most of the existing by-lanes/lanes/roads of Dhaka city cannot be widened any more. So the only way to ease the traffic jam is to control the nature & number of transports. The first step to do this is to drastically reduce & ultimately eliminate the non-motorized vehicles. The rickshaw pullers are virtually occupying at least 50% of all roads. The rickshaws are restricting rapid movement of the motorized vehicles as well as the pedestrians who go to their workplaces on foot.
In the rural areas there is now acute shortage of labourers for works relating to agriculture and cottage industries. Migration of this unskilled manpower to urban areas is multiplying the sufferings of city dwellers as well as the migrants themselves. Eliminating rickshaws in major cities will force these people to go back to villages where they can be better used in productive activities. There they can at least breathe fresh air, drink pure water and sleep in healthy huts. The government and well off city people must come forward for rehabilitation of this poor section in the process of making a rickshaw free capital.
In cities, it is also necessary to decrease the number of private cars and increase public/private buses so that commuters can shuttle comfortably. Movement of private cars during rush hours of the day can be controlled by imposing high parking charges and stopping unauthorized use of official transports by government & corporation officials.
We can turn to this CTG to do something to make Dhaka a rickshaw free capital, as no political government will disturb the vote bank!
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