Brought to the city of joy by Chinese traders in the mid-19th century, the hand-pulled rickshaw continues its uncertain journey. Putting yet another spoke in its well-worn wheels is a recent proposal by the state government to upgrade Kolkata’s 6,000-odd rickshaws to battery-powered vehicles. While the details are sketchy as of now, in the offing is a sarkari rehabilitation package to help ease this transition to modern, humane ways.
Plying the narrow, cobbled lanes of old Kolkata, even when monsoon and water-logging renders everything else immobile, the rickshaw-wallahs usually rent their vehicles for ₹40 to ₹60 per day and earn anywhere between ₹100 and ₹500.
At odds with the ‘London-like’ vision of Kolkata long peddled by the state government, the rickety, hand-pulled rickshaw is not an embarrassment, however, to the men whose only source of income (no matter how meagre) it has always been.
Hailing largely from the neighbouring states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha, the migrant rickshaw-wallahs live mostly on the footpaths. The rickshaw is both a provider by day and a shelter by night for many.
So, as the rhythm of their gentle tread on the streets, the distant tinkling of their bells, recede, one can only hope that their lives will take a turn for the better.
KR Deepak