Rickshaws

Rickshaws and Dhaka were made for each other. Dhaka is the flattest city I've ever encountered. There are simply no hills, although there is a small dip in the road on the way to Mirpur. Dhaka is also one of the fastest growing cities in the world. At present the population is put at 12 million, although that seems an underestimate to me, and the projections are for 30 million people within the next decade. How the city will cope with this increase is difficult to imagine and this is where rickshaws come into play.

They are environmentally friendly, colourful, efficient and employ lots of men. Its a difficult life but when we interviewed a number of rickshaw riders for a brief documentary we made in 2006/2007 we found them fully aware of their plight and entirely rational about why they pulled a rickshaw. After their rent (it is said that the police own many of the rickshaws) and other expenses a rickshaw drive can still earn more per day than if he worked in construction. Moreover, to a certain extent they are their own boss; they can stop for a char and a smoke if they like without a foreman chastising them.

All rickshaws are licensed by the Dhaka City Corporation and there is a provision for 60 000 for the city. At the moment there are 600 000 or so; that is 540 000 illegal rickshaws. They cause congestion, can be dangerous and are fair game for the increasing number of motorists on Dhaka roads. I have, I admit, kicked out at cars that willfully cutoff my ricksha in order to gain an extra centimetre on the crowded roads. Rickshaws are a problem in this sense but given the future a rational plan for there continuance should be devised, but it's not. Rather the authorities are looking for ways of getting rickshaws off the roads, which seems to me to be a shorted sighted policy. A number of major roads have already been designated 'ricksha free zones' and the number is set to increase. All os which means greater pollution as the number of cars increase, no end to congestion and more accidents. On7 August 29 people died on Bangladesh's roads (The Daily Star).

Rickshaws are a colourful addition to the sometimes bleak Dhaka landscape. There is a vibrant sub culture surrounding rickshaws - their art, the aura of criminality associated with them, plus the urban myths.

If you're interested in rickshaws have a look at Joanna Kirkpatrick's The Ricksha Arts of Bangladesh (http://www.artricksha.com) or Siraj Shajahan's UnnayanNews (http://www.unnayannews.net).