Tripura high court calls for ban on motor-rickshaws

AGARTALA: A division bench of the Tripura high court directed the Agartala municipal commissioner on Wednesday to immediately execute the order on the banning of converted paddle rickshaws into motor-rickshaws in the city. The order was passed by the court in February this year but not implemented.
While hearing the contempt petition on Tuesday, the bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Arindam Lodh, observed that their order of ensuring non-plying of converted paddle rickshaws was flouted by the administration as well as the state government.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation, the court had found that the converted manual rickshaws were the most risky modes of transportation. The manually regulated rickshaws have got high speed after they were converted resulting in a large number of accidents and even the death of a child last year. Since there is no safety mechanism in the rickshaw or not covered by insurance, the passengers have no protection.
State advocate general Arun Bhowmik argued that about 10,000 such paddle rickshaws had been converted into motor driven ones and now the state government is faced with a challenge of livelihood issues. However, the state government has been working on an alternative plan.
The court turned down the argument saying protection of life is more important than the livelihood of those rickshaw pullers who had illegally converted the paddle rickshaws. The court directed the district magistrate, West Tripura, SP West Tripura and SP Traffic besides, the municipal commissioner to swing into action to execute the order immediately. Otherwise, they will be held personally responsible for non-compliance.
The court also found the Tripura Battery Operated Rickshaw Rule 2014 and 2019 was repugnant to the MV Act 1988 and cancelled it accordingly.