Kolkata ends hand-pulled rickshaws

The West Bengal government has decided to do away with hand-pulled rickshaws, a symbol of Kolkata immortalised by Dominique Lapierre in the ‘City of Joy‘. As a Kolkatan, I would highly welcome the decision. It really hurt me to see a man pulling another man running barefoot and I always tried not to ride a tana-rickshaw. Earlier attempts to remove to pulled rickshaws had failed; this time the government has set a time-frame of 4-5 months. The CM of West Bengal, who made this announcement on 15th August, promised that rehabilations will be provided. I sincerely hope he will keep his words. It must be seen that the 20000+ rickshawalas are provided with suitable alternative jobs and not left in the lurch.

Nowhere on earth, other than Kolkata, this form of vehicle exists. The human-powered rickshaw of Kolkata, in no way, can be compared to its foreign counterparts, say for example, the tourist distractions that can occasionally be sighted on the streets of London which are jazzed up — and expensively priced. Even China, the original home of hand-pulled rickshaws, no longer uses these. Instead, petrol-run rickshaws ply at speeds of 25-30 km/hr. However, a Shanghai-based company is planning to export pulled rickshaws to the U.S.–not for conveyance but for installing them in museums, exhibitions, etc. as decoratives.