HAND PULLED RICKSHAW OF KOLKATA 12
WORKERS WANT THEIR PAYROLL
Hand-pulled rickshaws, largely
seen as symbols of inhumanity, are here to stay in Kolkata, the stamp of
approval coming from mayor Sovan Chatterjee himself.
The I-card
will effectively undo the former Left Front-run KMC decision in 2005 to stop
renewing licenses to hand-pulled rickshaws. It was a personal mission of then
chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who wanted to "liberate" the
human burden.
Now, the Trinamool Congress-run
civic body plans to breathe new life into this outdated mode of transport. The
hand-pulled rickshaws have been rolling in the City of Joy since the early 19th
century. Be it waterlogged Kolkata streets during monsoons or forlorn roads on
bandh days, it is hand-pulled rickshaw pullers who've have kept the city on the
move.
In 2005, the KMC was asked to
arrange alternative jobs for rickshaw pullers. The civic body decided not to
renew licenses of around 5,000 such rickshaw pullers and employ them instead in its conservancy
department. But the project fell through as there was resistance to the blanket
ban within the CPM and by Left Front allies.
I met some hand-rickshaw pullers
who were happy that the new government was sympathetic towards them. Ramkrishna
Shaw, a 65-year-old rickshaw puller, who
got a license to run his vehicle 50 years ago, was elated when union leaders
informed him about KMC's latest decision. "It is good news. I had come to
Kolkata half a century ago and started out as a rickshaw puller. This is all I
have done in my life and I know no other trade. So it is quite encouraging that
the new government has decided to recognize us," he said.
Md Salim, who plies his
hand-pulled rickshaw in the Sealdah-Bowbazar area, said he was counting the
days to receive his ID card from KMC. "I have been in the trade for 30
years but there was a constant threat on us for the past five years. Now, with
the new government taking steps to protect us, I feel absolutely safe," he
said. Officially, the number of hand-rickshaw pullers in the city is 6,000, but
there are at least 15,000 involved in the trade, said Shaw.
