Battery-run rickshaws must be charged with solar power

Battery-run rickshaws will face fines if their batteries are charged with electricity from sources other than solar power, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam said on Monday.

He said, “Battery-run rickshaws will face fines if they are charged with electricity from any source other than solar power.”

He said Dhaka city would be divided into eight zones for battery-run rickshaws, with a different colour assigned to rickshaws operating in each zone.

The state minister made the remarks while speaking to journalists after a review meeting on the use of solar power in departments, organisations and institutions under the Local Government Division and the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division.

He said arrangements were being made to register battery-powered e-rickshaws under city corporations and municipalities. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) would no longer register these vehicles.

Charging batteries with solar power would be one of the conditions for registration, he said. An e-rickshaw that uses electricity from any other source would not be eligible for registration. If the violation occurs after registration, the registration would not be renewed.

“The law provides for fines if these vehicles are charged with electricity from sources other than solar power,” Mir Shahe Alam said.

He said a law had already been passed by Parliament in this regard, while rules were now being formulated. The proposed rules would determine registration and renewal fees and set other conditions for operating e-rickshaws.

Before registration, e-rickshaws would have to obtain fitness certificates from the automobile branch of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) or a government polytechnic institute at the district level.

After obtaining the fitness certificate, applicants would have to submit it to the concerned city corporation or municipality with the countersignature of the traffic police, he said.

According to officials concerned, the new rules are aimed at regulating the registration and movement of e-rickshaws while promoting the use of solar power to charge their batteries.