In the name of sanity
Dhaka takes pride in its rickshaws. The word 'rickshaw' originates from the Japanese word jinrikisha (jin = human, riki = power or force, sha = vehicle); that makes a rickshaw a vehicle, which literally uses 'man-power' to carry passengers. The tourism brand promoters have dubbed Dhaka as the rickshaw capital of the world. The city had its first rickshaw in 1919. The early proto-types, which came from Myanmar, looked like the hand pulled passenger-carts that go under the name of rickshaws still in some places of Kolkata. Dhaka's rickshaws are different from the ice-cream van like Chinese ones.
Over the years, Dhaka's rickshaws have earned their unique touch by adorning themselves with the vibrant colours of life that characterise the booming city. With their lacey hoods, loud colour schemes, perforated tin plates, cheap plastic décor, thumb-pressed calling bells, and above all, paintings on their seat covers — rickshaws displayed postmodernist kitsch long before such ideas gained currency in the West. Rickshaw art, in particular, featured Prisma motif even before some androids made it current. The subject matter of rickshaw art ranges from moral prescription to fleshy disposition; from scenic beauty to geometric ingenuity; from folksy fantasy to mundane mandate.
A rickshaw ride is a must for emissaries coming to Bangladesh, tourists visiting the country, or flag bearers of participating nations in international sports events. Rickshaw art is highlighted as an imaginative feat of our traditional artisans. All this changed after the Gulshan attack on July 1. Our city fathers have deemed it right to take it on the rickshaws. Their decision to dress up rickshaws with yellow hoods is a sign of sickness that has affected the city. Rickshaws now look like weaver-birds in flight through a designated zone of the concrete jungle. And the passengers are relegated to twigs and straw en route their destinations.
People who have to use public transport system have got the short end of the stick. Five hundred rickshaws have been enlisted by Dhaka City Corporation (North) to ply in the posh neighborhood. A densely populated housing society such as Niketan, adjacent to Gulshan 1, received a share of only 50 rickshaws for its 20,000 inhabitants. But isn't Niketan a private housing society outside the purview of DCC? What does City Corporation have to do with this place anyway? Is it afraid that terrorists from Amtoli, Mohakhali, or Kuril will use the Niketan corridor to invade Gulshan riding in rickshaws? Given the overseas money-chain, do terrorists really ride in rickshaws or bikes (the soft targets for the police)? Wasn't it a Prado that was seen dumping weapons in a ditch in Uttara a few months back?
Since July 1, DCC has taken steps against local buses too. Within six weeks of the Holey Artisan Bakery incident, the route permits of public bus in the city's affluent areas were suspended in favour of just ten air conditioned minibuses with trebled fare. Once again the focus has been to serve the rich. In a city of 160 million, one wonders, how many people does DCC want to serve?
If DCC can operate in the Niketan appendix of Gulshan, why cannot it pick someone of its own size? For example a road was constructed during the caretaker government to bypass Old DOHS and to connect Air Port Road with Gulshan 2. That road has now become the sole property of Old DOHS authority.
Why cannot DCC open the civil aviation road to the public to reduce traffic jam near PM office? Why can't Dhakaites use a dead airport where the annual parade is held? If helicopters can land on a roof top, don't make it an excuse to stop public access to a place which is being baptised as a museum and what not! DCC must have a policy against establishments, housing societies, which are creating enclaves in Dhaka city treating others as stranded enclave dwellers (chhitmoholbashi).
Let's return from the road to the mode of transport: Dhaka aims at becoming a megacity, and it cannot do so by allowing push carts, rickshaws on the streets. Rickshaws must be phased out with a carefully crafted policy of transport diversification and rehabilitation of the people involved. For instance, free driving lessons can be given to rickshaw pullers and soft loans with no security can be given to rickshaw owners so that they can buy CNG, taxis or buses.
DCC must guarantee decent public transport now, and not carrot-swing the metro-rail card. The buses are 'rotten' in lack of a better word, unruly, and responsible for 25 percent of traffic jams in Dhaka city. They use left turning lanes as their bus stops, and stop wherever they want to pick up or drop off passengers.This practice must be stopped.
DCC must make Dhaka pedestrian friendly to reduce the dependency on rickshaws. Elevated pedestrian walkways or a footbridge networks can be erected above the existing sidewalks. In this way, an extra lane can be added to our infrastructure for public transport or at least for a bike lane. This has been successfully done in cities such as Manila and Hong Kong.
Heavy taxes for a second car for a family should be imposed to control the number of private cars. CNG cylinders are ticking bombs—they should be discouraged to control the number of private car users. There is no alternative to simultaneous incentives for the public transport infrastructure and penalties for using private transport if Dhaka has to survive.
And for sanity's sake, give the traffic signals a chance. Often manual traffic control is used by police because the traffic lights don't work and for 'other reasons'. I am sure there are transport engineers who can measure the flow of city traffic and time the signal lights to perfection.
Dhaka is for everyone. It is not only for rickshaw passengers but also for car and bike owners. It is not only for bus passengers but also for city walkers. Do not adopt a policy that places one class atop the other. Enough has been said. Do something and save Dhaka.
The writer is Professor of English, University of Dhaka. Currently on leave, he is the head of the Department of English and Humanities, ULAB.
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