Boko: Battery-operated rickshaws or E-Rickshaws may claim to reduce pollution and make local travel more affordable, but their unregulated sales are now creating traffic issues, especially in small towns.
Hundreds of E-Rickshaws come to Boko via the highway causing massive traffic jams. Anupam Rabha, a mechanic of E-Rickshaws, said four shops in Boko sell about 100 E-Rickshaws per month.
When asked about solutions, the Kamrup District Transport Officer Rupjyoti Kalita said, “E-Rickshaws running on highways is strictly prohibited. That is why we recently organised a road safety awareness meeting in Boko. If E-Rickshaws continue breaking the rules and regulations, we will take lawful actions against them,” adding that he would send a team to look into the matter.
On Saturday, an Enforcement inspector of Kamrup district, Krishna Kanta Patgiri and his team visited the Boko area. Patgiri said, “We have seen the chaos in Boko created by the E-Rickshaws. But we failed to control the jam.”
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Seizing violators’ rickshaws isn’t possible due to a lack of space in the Boko Police Station, Patgiri added.
Boko Police Station Officer in Charge Phanindra Nath said E-Rickshaws follow the rules for a few days but revert to old habits. “If we take any actions against violators, drivers of the E-Rickshaws start allegations that the Assam Police has been brutal against the poor and the working class”, he said.
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