Auto-rickshaws should be banned in the interest of the economy

The country is grappling with a severe power crisis. Amidst an intense heat wave, the lack of electricity for hours on end has thrown daily life into disarray, causing immense suffering for the people.

The overall economy faces a state of stagnation, marked by halted business activities, stalled industrial production, and disruptions to students’ studies.

Exasperated, people are questioning what the government is doing. Needless to say, there are multifaceted reasons behind this electricity crisis.

Among them are some common excuses—such as the lack of adequate gas for power generation, power plant shutdowns due to technical faults, the inability to ramp up production from oil-fired plants due to high costs, illegal connections, and electricity theft.

They state that individuals affiliated with the fallen fascist government remain within various tiers of the power sector. These individuals are playing a role in creating artificial crises through acts of sabotage aimed at making the government unpopular.

Although the causes of the power crisis have been identified, the overall situation makes it evident that the relevant authorities lack the initiative to resolve them.

One of the reasons for the power crisis is the charging of batteries for millions of battery-operated auto-rickshaws across the country through electricity theft.

Typically, each auto-rickshaw is equipped with four to five 12-volt batteries. On average, a single auto-rickshaw consumes between 6 and 9 units of electricity per day. The lion’s share of this electricity is consumed through illegal connections.

Typically, hundreds of thousands of battery-operated rickshaws are put on charge simultaneously at night (during off-peak hours).

Transformers are weakening under the strain of this clandestine load—essentially electricity theft. This results in load-shedding and voltage fluctuations.

Estimates indicate that the unauthorized charging of these countless auto-rickshaw batteries consumes approximately 24,000 megawatts of electricity daily, causing the government to lose 4,000 crore taka in annual revenue.

This presents a grim picture. It is easy to see how illegal battery-operated rickshaws are exacerbating the power crisis and disrupting the country’s overall economic activities. These vehicles have become a festering sore—a menace and a hazard—for the nation.

Their numbers are rising daily. A newspaper report reveals that between 15,000 and 20,000 such auto-rickshaws are being introduced in the capital alone every month.

Phasing out auto-rickshaws is the need of the hour—essential for restoring order on the roads, resolving the power crisis, and safeguarding the macro economy.

The government must adopt a zero-tolerance stance in this regard. Moving beyond mere rhetoric, swift action must be taken to ban these harmful vehicles.