Empowering the hand-pulled rickshaw, with some help from IIT

On Independence Day this year, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said he was determined to take the “inhuman” han...

On Independence Day this year, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said he was determined to take the “inhuman” hand-pulled rickshaw off Kolkata’s streets. That could come as early as 2006—with some help from the young Indian Institute of Technology in Guwahati.

A nifty tricycle rickshaw—looking like a cross between a leaner auto and a younger cycle rickshaw—developed by IIT design engineer Amarendra Das is going to be “test-marketed” in north Bengal on January 1. And if these trials are smooth, Kolkata may have to let go of its most enduring symbol of poverty and exploitation.

Called the “Dipbahan,” the tricycle rickshaw has been developed by Amarendra Das, a professor in IIT’s Department of Design, and is available in two passenger-friendly versions, the basic one (using tarpaulin and aluminium) for Rs 9,000 and the advanced one (rust-proof and with jute composites) Rs 12,000. (The average cost of a hand-pulled rickshaw is Rs 7,000).

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“I have tried to protect the driver from the elements,” Das told The Indian Express.

“And I have given passengers ergonomic seats, more legroom, luggage-space, protection from direct impact of other vehicles. There are brakes and a reduction gear, better safety norms than a traditional rickshaw. With jute trimmings, the advanced version looks quite sleek.” Few will disagree.

The model has been approved by the Department of Agriculture. Says Minister Kamal Guha: “We very much like what we saw. We have ordered ten of them.”

These ten will be tested in Cooch Behar in north Bengal where, Guha says, the government will pay a Rs 5000-subsidy to rickshaw-pullers to make the switch. “If all goes well there, we will replicate this in Kolkata.”

The “soft launch” is scheduled for January 1 in Dinhata by Rural Development Minister Surya Kanta Mishra. Das’s home state, Assam, already has 500 Dipbahans running. There are a few local manufacturers for commercial use of the vehicle. Bengal too will need local manufacturers if Dipbahan has to be cost efficient, said Das.

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“Many poor rickshaw-pullers, mostly from Bihar, will be rendered jobless if the rickshaws are withdrawn. We are willing to look at options but then those tricycles are expensive. How can poor rickshaw-pullers be expected to buy them?” said Mukhtar Ali, Vice President of the All Bengal Rickshaw Union.

With the Rs 5000 subsidy, that shouldn’t be a problem.