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New Delhi
By Lalit K. Jha
This has only lead to emergence of "rickshaw mafia lords'' who are the "new masters exploiters'' of the poor people besides a jump in number of rickshaws. Being unregulated they have made the Capital's roads even more chaotic. The intelligence agencies, it is learnt, have reported to the Union Government that license- free regime has resulted in increase in illegal migration from Bangladesh. Mr. Vajpayee in a letter dated August 23, 2001, to the Delhi Lieutenant-Governor, Vijai Kapoor, had drawn his attention to the harassment and exploitation of the poor rickshaw pullers in Delhi due to the licensing system for rickshaws, thereby calling for an urgent policy reform. Hurriedly, the civic body then ruled by the BJP abolished licensing system for rickshaw. In October 2001, the MCD House repealed the Cycle Rickshaw Bye-laws, after which the civic body ceased to have any control over registration and regulation of rickshaws. Impounding of rickshaws by the MCD and by the Delhi police too came to an end in the Capital. Though the Delhi police designated some busy traffic corridors like Ring and Outer Ring Road as "No Rickshaw Zone'' but is not being enforced. ``All this has resulted in substantial increase in the number of rickshaws. In August 2001, there were over 73,000 licensed and an estimated three lakh illegal unlicensed rickshaws in the Capital. Now it is estimated to be more than seven lakhs,'' said a senior MCD official. Though driven by market forces, rickshaws have even entered the posh South Delhi colonies. ``This has led to the emergence of rickshaw-lords. There are individuals in Yamuna Pushta and Old Delhi who own about 10,000 rickshaws. With the inhibited flow of migration be it from poverty-struck parts of the country or from Bangladesh, the rickshaw-lords are finding an immediate demand for their vehicles,'' officials said. From every rickshaw-puller they charge Rs. 50-60 for 12 hours. ``In case a rickshaw driver is unable to pay it, he is at times beaten up by the owner and his belongings confiscated. They have replaced the job which was done by the MCD officials and the Delhi police personnal. The poor people succumb to the dictates of these lords as they have no other option,'' they said. Conceded the Municipal Commissioner, Rakesh Mehta: "Now our target is how to tackle these rickshaw lords and arrest the trend of increase in number of cycle-rickshaws.'' The increase in the number of rickshaws is evident from its sale in the market. "An year ago we used to sell three to four rickshaw daily on an average. Now it is more than a dozen,'' conceded Manoj, who runs a rickshaw shop near the Old Yamuna Railway Bridge. Smooth flow of traffic has been affected at several places due to the unrestricted movement of cycle rickshaw, said traffic experts at the Central Road Research Institute. To top it all, a recent intelligence agencies report has attributed increase in Bangladesh migrants to the licensee free regime. They have recommended some regulatory mechanism to arrest the trend, which might prove to be dangerous from the security point of view. Reliable sources said it was only after the intelligence agencies pressed the alarm bell, that the Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office, Vijai Goel, recently convened a meeting of top officials to discuss this issue.
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