Talks to regulate rickshaw movement

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Oct. 20: Both officials from the Congress and Trinamul Congress-led English Bazaar Municipality and the officials of the Left Front-led Old Malda Municipality will hold a joint discussion on Wednesday to formulate restriction on rickshaw movement in Malda town to ease the growing traffic congestion.

The decision for joint discussion was taken following the intervention of the district administrative officials on receiving complaints from the Old Malda Municipality that the English Bazaar civic body officials had been preventing rickshaws, registered from Old Malda Municipality, from entering Malda town.

The English Bazaar civic body has, however, agreed to relax the restriction on the rickshaw movement from Old Malda area. But the ban would continue as far as the rickshaws coming from the gram panchayat areas are concerned. The Malda SDO, Miss Arunima De, instructed the officials of both the civic bodies to ascertain the number of registered rickshaws plying in two municipalities.

She also asked them to seek help from the deputy superintendent of police to estimate the capacity of rickshaws to be allowed on the roads in Malda town, under the English Bazaar municipal areas.

When the English Bazaar civic body officials restricted movement of registered rickshaw from Old Malda into English Bazaar town a few days ago, there was protest from a section of the residents of Old Malda. A group of rickshaw pullers in Old Malda had blocked NH-34 on Tuesday in protest. According to a survey conducted by the English Bazaar civic body, more than 10,000 rickshaws are plying every day in Malda town, creating traffic congestion.

Yet the official figure of registered rickshaw under English Bazaar is 3,200 and nearly 2000 rickshaws have registration under Old Malda civic body. “We suspect that many unregistered rickshaws are plying on the roads with bogus number plates. We have planned to issue freshly designed number plates at the time of renewal of license to identify the unregistered rickshaws”, said Mr Dulal Sarkar, vice chairman of the English Bazaar Municipality.