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Birth of a rickshaw

By Sharker Khan
One can hardly visualize the picture of the capital city. Dhaka, without rickshaws
There are thousand* of rickshaws and lakh* of rickshaw-pullers carrying ml) lions of passengers every M
According to the city mayor there are approximately three lakh rickshaw* in Dhaka. Out of the total, about 81.000 were regls tered till 1987 but the number now decreased to 78.000
But Gaffar mist ri famous for his skill in making rick • haws says. "I don t think there are more than two lakh rickshaws in this city, but the number is on the
Gaffar 48 has been Involved with the profession of making, repairing and assembling rickshaws for 38 years, lie has a repute Uon of making best’ rickshaws 'But I am no wealthy mechanic, since I don t get much offer nowadays', he said
In the city, rickshaw* are made chiefly tn Dhoiaikhal. Ba ng sal Malibagh Cbowd hury Para and Mirpur
.Although the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) stopped giving new rickshaw licences since 1987 with a view to banish the three wheeler from the capital tn the long run. about 700 to 800 rickshaw mechanic* are still producing new rickshaw*
"It take* only a couple of days to make a brand new rick shaw" said Gaffar who works only with one helping hand
"15 years ago. I had 10 to 12 mechanics in my workshop tn Dhoiaikhal. because of high demand for making good rickshaws, he added
Presently, he informed that Chanda and Barek mlstrl are famous for making highest number of rickshaws. 'But their products are light and cheaper and those of mine." Gaffar boasted
In the past the rickshaw me chanics used to build and assemble every part of the vehicle. But nowadays the owners or the 'mahajans bring tn the raw materials and mechanics from differ ent shops simply to assem ble and decorate the trley cle
Nowaday* a rickshaw cost* Ik 7.500 to Tk 9.000. said Mahtab. another mechanic 'But the profit is very min imum one can hardly save Tk 500 profit from a 7.500 Tk clckshaw.' he added
The quality of a rickshaw mostly depends on its seat — which is often uncom fortable and sometimes giving the rider a feeling of a yogi sitting on nail board Gaffar always try to maintain a good size and quality for the seat* he makes
In the Pakistan period, the size of the seals was main tained at 25 inches by 14 inches. Gaffar makes the seats 24 inches by 12 and half inches. But other me chanics. according to Gaf far make it in at an uncom fortable size of 23 by 10 and half
Size of other part* of rickshaw have also decreased by sev eral Inches over the years 111 his.' Gaffar add* 'had
happened not only to save the production cost but also for the growing demand for a lighter, narrower and faster vehicle suitable for the present city traffic sit nation'
Rickshawmaker* informed that, the best produced rickshaws last for about 14 to 15 years
Being conscious of the DCC embargo on new licences. Gaffar and Mahtab mlstrl both say. "licence can hardly hinder making of new rickshaws.'
The owner* buy or bribe the authority for a duplicate licence plate.' they confided
According to city mechanics and rickshawowners, the phoney number plate having the same number of another vehicle can be obtained from certain Junior level officials by a cost of only Tk 50 to 60.
"In this city with lakhs of three wheelers, who's going to check whether the number is a duplicate one or not asked a mechanic.
Most of the rickshaws running on the city streets are lucrative targets for the thieves.
There are a number of organised gangs of thieves in the city who very often pick up the tricycle* and demand ransom* said Gaffar srho Is the owner of eight rickshaw*
The number of thieves has in creased to *uch an extent that rickshaw owners have to provide certain amount of money monthly to the gangs for the safety of their vehicle*
In exchange of this guarantee money the thieves mark the vehicle* with certain symbol* meaning not to be •token
T used a mango sign on the back of my rickshaws." Gaffar said adding that he had an understanding with the local gang led by Nazim Sardar that none would touche his wheel*
Once one of my vehicles was stolen by Nazim's gang •even year* ago So I met the leader and had a bitter argument* srlth him for breaking the understanding
At one stage he agreed to give up the stealing nek •haws If 1 could stop the police from getting regular toll from tlie thieves.'
The police, having an understanding with these gangs pressurise them for money and do not believe that they would ever give up the bad Job. So. in a way. they are forced to steal.
"If you want to check this fact, you can ask any experienced nckshawpuller in the city — which ricksha.N will not be stolen." he said
Interestingly, many of them may be able to point out certain rickshaws with certain markings or number
Mahtab or Gaffar do not see a chance of banning rick shaws from the capital “If anyone plans to abolish the vehicle from the city, he must be crazy ... 1 mean the rural and the poor people mostly depend on the money earned from the rickshaws in Dhaka."
They said... "If you.banish it from the city, no foreign money will be able to save the lives of millions of these poor hard working people". .