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Parked rickshaws occupy city roads

Zyma Islam
Many pedestrian walkways in the capital have been permanently turned into makeshift rickshaw garages, leaving barely enough space to fit feet.
The people managing these garages are neither hesitant to encroach upon the road itself, taking up to one lane with illegally parked rickshaws.
Busy streets like Green Road and the Paribagh road, which empties out onto Shahbagh road near Aziz Supermarket, are two such examples.
The four-lane Green Road is half occupied by rickshaws parked nose-to-nose day in and out almost all the way from Panthapath traffic signal to Farmgate bus stop on both sides.
The parked vehicles spill out onto the
street in such a way that a sliver of the road is all that is left for vehicles headed out to the Panthapath signal.
The stretch of Green Road is broken up into two or three different "garages" controlled by a manager each, who guards the rickshaws, according to rickshaw-pullers in the area.
On the footpaths, pedestrians would be barely seen braving to walk through the tangle of steel. They choose to jaywalk instead.
Tahia Jahan, a student of a coaching institution nearby, told The Daily Star that she hated using this road.
"When I walk by, the rickshaw-pullers stationed on the sides leer at me. Sometimes they pass comments as well. It is extremely discomfiting," she said. Sanju Miah, a rickshawpuller, who was putting his vehicle into "his spot" recently, said he paid Tk 70 every day to his manager to bribe police for occupying public space.
"I own only one rickshaw, which does not earn me enough to get a garage space. Where else am I supposed to keep my vehicle?" he asked.
Hanif, another rickshawpuller, said garage rent for his vehicle was taking Tk 1,200 out of his pocket monthly, and he could no longer afford it despite owning two rickshaws.
So, he rents space from his manager for Tk 10 per day for each of his vehicles.
His manager Badshah said he suffered the brunt of police's wrath. "I get arrested frequently, and have to bribe themTk 100 or 200 to be released. It is a routine affair."
In Paribagh, Sohrab said garage space was scarce. "There is a rickshaw shed in Kathalbagan and another in Hatirpool. But the space is not enough to accommodate all the rickshaws plying the streets. 1 have no option but to park on the road," he said.
However, he said he was looking for a proper space because Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) had threatened to evict them. “All the rickshaw-pullers were evicted before Eid-ul-Azha. But we came back, finding no other place to go to," said Sohrab.
Nearly six lakh rickshaws ply the streets of Dhaka city, of which five lakh are illegal, while only 79,000 are registered.
Khaled Ahmed, chief estate officer at DSCC, said such an eviction was done out of concern for the pedestrians. "Since the rickshaws have returned, we hope to organise another eviction drive again," he said.
However, Khaled said it was not the responsibility of his department to think about where the rickshawpullers would be parking their vehicles. " Perhaps the social welfare department might take it upon their shoulders. We will only focus on the eviction."
Rickshaws are seen parking also in Adabar, Shyamoli ring road, Bhasantek, and Shekhertek among other areas in the capital.