Rickshaws and the middle class

Yet, who is there to think of the people who are making it possible for all of us to travel in this comfort? They (the rickshawpullers) are living in a wretched environment, mostly in slums where they are often being deprived of the basic needs.

No government, since the independence of Bangladesh, has paid any real attention to this group. In the present time, where even the middle class is having difficulties to cope with the high living costs, the government should come forward to help them.

In the last couple of years, the rickshaw rent has increased rapidly. At this moment, pulling a rickshaw for the whole day will mean that the senior pullers will have to pay Tk 60 a day, whereas the junior pullers will pay an extra Tk 10 . For the half-day, they will pay half of the amount respectively.

The question arises, how much do they earn ? At best Tk 120 if they are lucky enough? If they have to pay Tk 30-35 out of that, how can they provide for their families?

Two years back, this amount was taka 40 and 50 respectively and the number of rickshaws was not so high. So they could earn more and since they had to pay less they could save more money each day. More rickshaws mean more competition, less number of passengers, and lesser amounts to earn. It has been reported so many times that most of the rickshaws running on Dhaka's streets are without any license or are holding fake licenses. The government should restrict the number of rickshaws running on the streets by allowing only the licensed rickshaws. It would greatly help the rickshaw-pullers to earn some more money than they are earning at present.

In addition, the government can also regulate the rent amount by having a meeting with the rickshaw owners committee that will meet the rickshaw-pullers' interests and the owners' interests as well.