look news india
New Delhi/Noida/Ghaziabad (Delhi-NCR Desk): E-rickshaws, which make the journey from metro station to home easier (Last-Mile Connectivity) in the country’s capital Delhi, have today themselves become the biggest headache for the traffic system of Delhi. From Chandni Chowk, Karol Bagh and Laxmi Nagar of Old Delhi to Uttam Nagar, Dwarka, Rohini, Shahdara and Noida-Ghaziabad border areas, there is a huge gathering of e-rickshaws outside every intersection and metro station. In view of the accidents happening due to lakhs of illegal e-rickshaws running without registration, arbitrariness of minor drivers and illegal charging by stealing electricity, now Delhi Government and Transport Department have taken very strict steps. The administration has presented a detailed draft of new rules and guidelines (E-Rickshaw New Rules Draft) to completely streamline the operation of e-rickshaw in Delhi. In this new draft, strict conditions have been set for e-rickshaw owners, drivers and even dealers. Let us know in detail what is going to change on the roads of Delhi after the implementation of this new policy.
Mafia rule will be hit: There will be a limit on registration in the name of one person
The biggest problem regarding e-rickshaw in Delhi has been ‘contracting system’ and ‘e-rickshaw mafia’. Investigation has revealed that many influential people in different areas of Delhi have purchased 50 to 100 e-rickshaws alone and they give them to anyone to drive on daily basis without any verification. In the new draft, concrete arrangements have been made to end this mafia rule. Under the proposed rules, there will now be a strict limit on the maximum number of e-rickshaws that can be registered in the name of an individual (on the basis of Aadhaar and PAN card). Its objective is that only genuine and needy auto-rickshaw drivers get self-employment. Apart from this, while registering the e-rickshaw, the owner will also have to inform where he will park his vehicle (parking proof) and where he will charge it.
License, PSV badge, uniform and police verification will be mandatory for drivers.
It is often seen that minor boys aged 14 to 17 years are seen driving e-rickshaws without any fear on the streets and main roads of Delhi, which leads to accidents every day. In the new draft, the rules for drivers have been made very strict. Now no person will be able to drive an e-rickshaw without a valid commercial driving license (E-Rickshaw Driving License) and Public Service Vehicle Badge (PSV Badge). Not only this, keeping in mind the safety of passengers, especially women, police verification of every e-rickshaw driver is being made mandatory. On the lines of auto and taxi drivers, e-rickshaw drivers will also be required to wear the prescribed khaki or gray colored uniform and have a plate with the driver’s name, photo, mobile number and license number inside their e-rickshaw. Along with the driver who breaks the rules, a heavy fine will also be imposed on the owner of that e-rickshaw.
Bulldozers will run on illegal charging stations, strict standards for battery safety
The second biggest problem related to e-rickshaws in Delhi is illegal charging stations. Thousands of e-rickshaws are charged every night by connecting the poles directly to the electric poles in Yamuna crossing, Outer Delhi and unauthorized colonies. There have been many tragic incidents of fire in Delhi due to overcharging of poor quality lead-acid or local lithium-ion batteries, in which people have even lost their lives. It has been clarified in the new draft that now e-rickshaws can be charged only from authorized charging stations, battery swapping centers or valid domestic/commercial electricity connections. Apart from this, only those e-rickshaws will be registered in Delhi which have safe batteries approved by the government (AIS-156 standard). After registering an FIR for electricity theft against the owners doing illegal charging, their e-rickshaw will be directly impounded and sent for scrap.
Zone and color coding will end traffic jam, there will be no-entry on VIP roads
‘Zone System’ and ‘Colour Coding’ have been proposed in the new draft to get rid of the severe traffic jams on the main arterial roads and outside the metro stations of Delhi. Under this, the entire Delhi can be divided into different zones and the e-rickshaw of each zone will have a fixed color or sticker, so that the e-rickshaw from one area does not increase the crowd by going to another area. ‘Halt and Go’ stands will be made for e-rickshaws outside the metro stations, where only 4 or 5 e-rickshaws will be able to stand in the queue at a time. Along with this, a complete ban on plying of e-rickshaws (No Entry) will be implemented more strictly on Ring Road, Outer Ring Road, NH-48, Mathura Road and more than 236 major roads of New Delhi (NDMC) identified by Delhi Traffic Police. With the implementation of new rules, not only will the traffic on the roads of Delhi become smoother, but the journey of lakhs of passengers traveling daily will also be safer than before.