DHAKA: The backbreaking job of pedalling a rickshaw in Bangladesh could soon be history with a local company saying it has come up with battery-powered, rechargeable cycles. Bangladesh Diesel Plant, an agricultural farm tool manufacturer owned by the country’s powerful army, says it has created an electric rickshaw and plans to launch it by the end of the year.

The head of the project, Major Abdullah Al Mahmud, said the new rickshaw was a novel way of easing Dhaka’s traffic woes, without hurting the income of those who earn their living by carrying passengers around town.

“It will revolutionise rickshaws in the country, without changing the very shape and size of the age-old colourful vehicle that has become part of our history and culture,” he said.

“The batteries can be recharged just like mobile phones. An overnight charge will last a full day.” There are an estimated one million cycle rickshaws in Bangladesh. Half of those are in the capital Dhaka, and are often blamed for its severe traffic jams, reputed to be the worst in South Asia.

The three-wheelers — still the cheapest and sometimes only mode of transport that can navigate Dhaka’s narrow alleys -- are a vital source of income for many in the impoverished country.

However, the physically gruelling work is often criticised by rights groups as inhumane. But several attempts to eliminate rickshaws from Bangladesh have come to nothing.

Mahmud said the new model would cost 30,000 taka ($420) — almost twice the price of a traditional rickshaw — but the increase would be offset because the new vehicles would travel up to four times as fast.

“It will be far speedier than the normal rickshaws, guaranteeing drivers a better daily wage,” he said. “It will be cost-effective for garage owners and rickshaw pullers.” Most drivers seen on the streets of Dhaka have legs of steel: they work at least 12 hours a day, seven days a week to earn a daily wage of between 150 and 200 taka (two and three dollars).

“But speed was not the only thing on our minds when we started work on the project,” Mahmud said. “We want to end the inhumane way the rickshaws are being driven by the poor drivers. It is one of the hardest jobs on earth.” Rickshaw riders normally rent their vehicles from garage owners, who own fleets of up to 200. Mahmud said the garages would be equipped to deal with repairs on site.

Mohammad Rahmatullah, a former transport expert from the United Nations, praised the idea saying it was the most realistic plan he had seen to ease Dhaka’s traffic problems.

“It looks exciting. It’s promising to end Dhaka’s chronic congestion and keep rickshaw drivers employed.” He said the plan needed government support for it to work.

In 2004, the World Bank aborted a lending project to phase out rickshaws from Dhaka’s main roads after a study showed that it would severely hit the migrants who come to the capital to escape destitution in the countryside.—AFP