ITAHARI: Electric rickshaw operators in Itahari Sub-metropolitan City have assembled at the sub-metropolis office with their vehicles to protest the highhandedness of the city police.
Transport workers demonstrated in front of the sub-metropolis office with their electric rickshaws on Sunday. They claim that the city police, in collaboration with traffic police, were checking their documents and imposing a fine of Rs 500 on drivers without a driving license.
Devraj Timilsina, an electric rickshaw driver, said that although they had requested time from the authorities to prepare a driving license, the city police were levying a daily fine of Rs 500 on them. “Obtaining a driving license is not something that can be completed overnight. We are in touch with the Transport Management Office regarding driving licenses for electric rickshaw operators. The process is very cumbersome,” Timilsina said. “We should be given at least six months to prepare a driving license.”
Electric rickshaws have been operated by drivers without a driving license for the past 13 years. “We agree that this sector should be managed. However, city police personnel are targeting transport entrepreneurs instead of finding a solution to the problem,” said Sabina BK of Itahari-8. “We voted them into office with the hope that they work for our betterment. But they are trying to rule us.”
Electric rickshaws are causing parking problems in Itahari. Traffic management is becoming increasingly challenging due to electric rickshaws. Since most of the electric rickshaws are not registered with the sub-metropolis, it is becoming difficult to regulate them. Even electric rickshaws permitted to operate in neighboring areas like Duhabi and Ramdhuni of Sunsari and Sundar Haraicha of Morang are operating in Itahari, adding to traffic woes in the city.
Kumar Tamang, president of the Koshi Province Committee of All Nepal Electric Rickshaw Workers Union, said that although the provision of registration and time cards has helped address the problem to some extent, there is still an issue in finding a parking space. “The driving license process has added to our woes,” he added.
Electric rickshaws, popularly known as City Safari in eastern Nepal, have been in operation for more than a decade. Since these small vehicles were introduced without proper study and standards, they have been creating problems in traffic management. Traffic Police even decided to stop the entry of electric rickshaws in the city centers. However, they were forced to roll back the decision due to protests by the electric rickshaw operators.
More than 3,000 electric rickshaws ply the streets of the sub-metropolis, according to conservative estimates.
SP Saroj Poudel, chief of Nepal Police Highway Security and Transport Management office in Itahari, stated that they were encouraging electric rickshaw operators without a driving license to apply for one. “We are working in coordination with the sub-metropolis to assist rickshaw operators who do not have a driving license or whose vehicle registration has expired to initiate the designated administrative process,” he added.
