• Municipal authorities turn to blind eyes for getting monthly toll
• No specific record of illegal rickshaws to the authorities
• PDB officials unknown about how much electricity consume by such vehicles daily

Special Correspondent:

Believe it or not, the small town Sirajganj, commonly known as a town of the Jamuna river bank, has now turned into a town of battery run rickshaws and auto-rickshaws or easybike due to extreme apathy, lack of coordination and mismanagement of the authorities concerned causing immense sufferings to the commuters and pedestrians.

Not only that, due to random use of unauthorized battery run rickshaws and auto-rickshaws or ‘Tesla’/easybike, huge quantity of electricity is being used regularly from different legal and illegal charging points in the town, but surprisingly the authorities have no any statistic on it, though extreme crisis of electricity is persisting across the country nowadays.

There is a complaint that, for want of necessary measures by the municipal authorities, the small town of 28.49 sq km area has now become almost standstill with the pressure of unauthorized battery run vehicles. Though, the commuters and pedestrians suffer day after day, no one of the authorities concerned pays heeds in this regard except making conventional promises and remarks in different meetings and seminars. As a result, the problems have been remained unsolved for long.

Locals demand immediate action on it with the aim to bring traffic chaos under control.

Current Condition:

According to unofficial estimates, over 10,000 battery-operated rickshaws regularly ply the town streets, causing severe traffic congestion at various locations—particularly at the Baza’ar Station roundabout, Rail Gate, Boro Baza’ar, Mujib Road, and Chowrasta intersection. Additionally, there is a proliferation of battery-operated auto-rickshaws—locally known as ‘Easybike’ or ‘Teslas’—which are present in countless numbers. These vehicles are regularly being charged at several illegal charging points in the town and its surrounding areas. Consequently, a vast amount of electricity is being consumed by these illegal vehicles under the nose of the authorities concerned.

Not only that, the unskilled rickshaw pullers are creating chaos on the town streets while competing with other vehicles like motorcycles without giving side that leads to frequent minor and major accidents almost daily.

Photo: TDS

Performance of Municipality:

Maruf Ahmed, the license inspector for Sirajganj Municipality, told ‘The Daily Sky’, “There is a provision to issue licenses for a maximum of 5,000 rickshaws in Sirajganj Municipality. However, most rickshaw owners are not interested in obtaining licenses; they prefer operating their vehicles on the streets by paying illegal monthly tolls to the association leaders.”

He however, said, “There are 3,913 licensed battery-operated rickshaws in the municipality; the rest are being operated illegally. Furthermore, we do not issue licenses for battery-operated auto-rickshaws or ‘Teslas’ (a type of battery-operated vehicle) because higher authorities have not yet made any decision regarding them. I believe these should be brought under a legal framework.”

“Sirajganj town has the capacity to accommodate highest 3,000 rickshaws. However, due to a lack of administrative oversight, more than 10,000 rickshaws of various types are operating there besides other vehicles, causing severe traffic congestion every day,” he added.

Power consumption by these vehicles:

On average, 5 to 10 kilowatt-hours (units) of electricity are consumed daily to fully charge a battery-operated rickshaw or auto-rickshaw (locally known as ‘Easybike’). Typically, an auto-rickshaw is equipped with four to six batteries with 12-volt each, and a full charge cycle consumes five to 10 units (kWh) of electricity. It takes approximately five to eight hours to fully charge the batteries each day.

According to data from various research studies and media reports, the charging of the approximately 6 million battery-operated rickshaws currently in operation across the country consumes about 800 megawatts of electricity daily from the national grid—accounting for roughly 5 percent of the nation’s total daily electricity generation.

Like other cities and towns of the country, over 10,000 battery run vehicles in Sirajganj town are consuming electricity daily without counting.

Role of Power Development Board (PDB) in Sirajganj:

While contacted, Asit Podder, Executive Engineer for Sales and Distribution Section-2 of NESCO, PDB in Sirajganj said, “We do not have any record of the electricity consumption by the battery-operated rickshaws, but it is taking toll. Besides, we have no record of conducting any drive to illegal charging points.”

Traffic Management:

Locals alleged that, the traffic police don’t interfere into the matter of rickshaw movements in the town. Municipal police also handle it with their own strategies. Rickshaw pullers admitted that, municipal police also don’t disturb them as the association leaders pay monthly based bribe to the municipal authorities on behalf of the rickshaw pullers after realizing toll from them.

Despite repeated attempts, no official from the Sirajganj Police Traffic Department agreed to comment on the matter.

Statements of the Poura authority:

Rafiqul Islam, Secretary of Sirajganj Municipality told The Daily Sky that, “I am the authorized spokesperson of the municipality. So, what I say, that is right. I don’t have any statistic of battery run rickshaws or Teslas or easybikes in the municipality. We however, have asked the concerned officials to issue 5000 license each year. According to the directive of the DC, we have to fetch all the unauthorized vehicles into a rule shortly.”

Locals have stated that, instead of merely offering empty promises at meetings and seminars, it is essential to eliminate the chaos in traffic movement and restore law and order on streets.

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