TDS Desk:

For over a decade, battery-powered three-wheelers have dominated Bangladesh’s roads, yet the government has failed to impose registration rules or traffic controls. This regulatory vacuum has fuelled explosive growth, with Dhaka alone hosting 2 million of the nation’s estimated 4 million electric three-wheelers, according to research by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

Lead, the most toxic component in these vehicles’ batteries—combined with lead oxide and sulphuric acid—poses a silent crisis. According to UNICEF data, Bangladesh ranks fourth globally for lead pollution. Nearly 30,000 citizens die annually from lead exposure. Lead poisoning has so far killed 138,000 adults aged over 25 through heart disease alone in the country.

CPD study noted lead-acid battery production consumes 90 percent of the world’s lead supply. In Bangladesh, 78 percent of such batteries serve transport, primarily e-rickshaws and e-bikes, causing a surge in informal and unsafe recycling.

“Given the transport sector’s 78 percent reliance on lead-acid batteries, this acid directly threatens public health,” argued Md Khalid Mahmud, CPD programme associate and co-author of its study Integrating Electric Three-Wheelers into Urban Transport Network: Challenges and Way Forward.

Speaking to journalists, he added, “But blame can’t be put only on these battery-powered auto-rickshaws alone. Multiple sectors use them. A policy or legal framework is required to register three-wheelers, but it hasn’t been created yet. Consequently, no agency wants to take accountability.”

The CPD study quantifies the imbalance: 76 percent of lead-acid batteries power e-bikes; seven percent support solar power systems for houses; five percent serve motorcycles. Private cars and taxis consume four percent; telecom towers three percent. Trucks, tractors, ambulances, and battery-run rickshaws use two percent; buses consume one percent.

Photo: Collected

Researchers warn no safe lead exposure threshold exists—even trace amounts effect children’s brain development.

Public health expert Dr. Lelin Choudhury confirmed Bangladesh lacks formal disposal rules for lead-rich e-waste. “Discarded batteries leach lead into food and water,” he told journalists. “It infiltrates crops and fish, disrupting children’s neurological development while destroying adults’ kidneys and livers. Cancer risks rise; pregnant women face higher rates of premature birth and disabled newborns.”

He also noted that Dhaka’s crippling traffic has drastically reduced travel speeds, causing mental stress that contributes to chronic conditions like hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and insomnia.

Dr. Choudhury urges immediate action. Workers repairing or cleaning electrical and lead-heavy machinery must wear special protective gear and perform these tasks within specific safe zones. Authorities must enforce mandatory government policies for waste disposal. Bringing the entire lifecycle under strict regulation is essential, he said.

Across Bangladesh’s six major cities, just 5 percent of Dhaka’s 2 million electric three-wheelers are registered, CPD research reveals. Four million such vehicles operate across the country with 95 percent entirely unregulated. Chattogram, the port city, hosts 300,000 such vehicles with only 73,500 (24.5 percent) under registration. Rajshahi ranks third: 290,000 e-bikes ply its streets but merely 8.8 percent are licensed.

Regional disparities persist. While Rangpur division hosts 196,500 units, the Rangpur city alone has 40,000 battery-powered three-wheelers—just six percent of which is registered. Khulna division counts 217,500 vehicles, including 30,000 in the city where registration covers only 7.9 percent. Sylhet city’s 40,000 three-wheelers show marginally better compliance at 18.2 percent under registration. Mymensingh division’s 156,000 units include 40,000 in its urban core, of which 23 percent are legal.

Repeated attempts to contact Mohammad Shahidullah, director (engineering) at the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, failed; his phone remained switched off.

Transport expert Dr. Shamsul Hoque of BUET attributes the chaos to institutional short-sightedness. “Electric three-wheelers proliferated because authorities lacked foresight and professionalism,” he told journalists. “Controls should have begun at production. Negligence allowed this to balloon.”

Registration alone, he warns, is not a solution: past attempts to formalise rickshaws merely worsened traffic and safety. What exacerbates the crisis is structural decay. Hoque insists technical specialists must be appointed to overhaul the system. A dedicated team of experts is required to ensure the orderly management of the transport system, focusing on traffic control and the movement of large vehicles.