Traffic jam and rickshaws
To introduce myself, I am 75 years old, partially disabled and the senior-most member of Action on Disability and Development (ADD), a UK based international organisation promoting the rights of disabled people in 28 districts of Bangladesh. I still put in a full day's work and although I do have access to office transport, I prefer to walk or use a rickshaw that is easier to find, cheap, faster (yes, faster) and pollution free.
This letter is to highlight the problems of hundreds of our disabled brethren who come to our offices in Banani from all over Bangladesh for various purposes and of course myself. The same problems of cheap transportation and accessibility are also faced by the poor marginalised people who are the constituents of dozens of other NGOs, local and international, in the Banani/Gulshan area.
I have been a devoted reader of The Daily Star from Issue No 1. In my considered view, the eagerly awaited and enthralling editorials over the last decade and a half, have remained as beacons of hope for the long-suffering people of Bangladesh for attaining their democratic rights and economic emancipation. It is with this background, that I am deeply saddened to write this letter to you. I feel that, at least in the above imbroglio, the moral strength of your great daily is slowly ebbing away.
As a resident of Dhaka, I do not have to draw you a picture of the mess we face every day on Dhaka's roads while going about our business. When last Ramadan (2007), rickshaws were summarily banned from some so-called VIP roads, including Mohakhali Road, the decision affected thousands like me who used rickshaws for innumerable errands including going to/from office.
Come sun, rain or cold, we have found ourselves summarily ejected from our rickshaws by zealous cops irrespective of whether we are old, infirm, disabled, women, children, sick, students, carrying loads home, etc, etc. Millions (rickshaw pullers, makers/repairers and related families etc), have lost their means of livelihood and millions more have descended on dark, narrow, pot-holed, flooded roads as pedestrians. Each day we play Russian Roulette with motorised vehicles on the roads.
I, therefore, initiated a debate on Dhaka's Traffic Jams in the Letters Page of DS. Since Sept 07, I have sent 21 letters on the subject. Each letter has been couched in cold logic, irrefutable facts and undeniable figures that amply prove that banning of rickshaws is NOT the solution, until adequate alternative means of urban transport are made available for the vast majority (99%) who do not have access to personal cars (1%). Many of your readers have heartily joined in the debate and a multi-meshed colourful fabric of varied opinions, including those from BUET and DU professors no less, has adorned these pages.
My contention is that the problem of traffic jams remains a very potent issue. Have the traffic gridlocks eased with the banning of rickshaws? Will the jams abate (or be further aggravated) when the thousands of private cars awaiting clearance in Chittagong Port and on the high seas, hit the roads? The answer is a very chilling and vociferous NO!!!
I entirely agree with the anti-rickshaw lobby, that rickshaws have no place in a modern metropolis, but is Dhaka modern? Is it a metropolis? In most respects, especially logistics and infra-structure, it can still be compared to the Dhaka of (pardon the pun) Shaistha Khan. Over the last few months, a distinct bias is discernible in your letter selection. Anti-rickshaw letters were being printed forthwith, while those from myself, if printed at all, were usually found with pertinent points edited out. Since June 2008, the subject of Traffic Jams has been totally swept under the rug.
I sincerely hope this letter reaches you and you can spare some time to read it and foresee and understand the consequences that will follow when the patience of millions runs out.
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