Battery rickshaws to be under policy regulation: Minister

The government is formulating a comprehensive policy to restrict the unbridled plying of battery-run rickshaws across major thoroughfares and key commercial areas in the capital, Road Transport Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam announced on Tuesday.

"We do not intend to hurt anyone’s livelihood, but Dhaka cannot be allowed to grind to a halt to serve the interests of any particular group," Rabiul asserted, stressing that unchecked three-wheelers have crippled urban mobility.

Speaking after inaugurating the re-excavation of Dhanmondi Lake alongside Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Administrator Abdus Salam, the minister acknowledged that while operators may face initial hurdles, a collective consensus is vital to end systemic traffic chaos.

Hitting back at Jamaat-e-Islami leader Golam Parwar’s remarks defending battery-run rickshaws, Rabiul termed it the opposition's habitual failure to balance citizens’ rights with civic realities.

"They have perpetually misread public sentiment, from the 1971 Liberation War, through the Ershad regime and 1/11, right up to their brief clarity in 2024, which they promptly lost again," he said, taking a swipe at the party's historic political miscalculations.

Turning to civic development, the minister stated that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has cleared two projects worth Tk83 crore to restore Dhanmondi Lake within two and a half years. The undertaking involves dredging, sludge removal, walkway development, and rebuilding abandoned structures like Nazrul Mancha.

Urging city dwellers to protect the waterbody from garbage dumping, Rabiul added that a separate Tk350-crore drainage megaproject is underway to resolve chronic monsoon waterlogging across DSCC pockets, including Dhanmondi, Kalabagan, Hazaribagh, Chawkbazar, and areas adjacent to Shikdar Medical College.