After daily and frightfully shocking traffic incidents that mostly involved heavy transport vehicles like dumper trucks and water tankers and took the life of many innocent citizens there has been a ban on motor-cab rickshaws on 11 major roads in Karachi that include nearly all the main arteries from one corner of the city to another. This is not the first time that such a ban has been imposed. Few years back, these rickshaws had all but disappeared from our roads, but then they suddenly sprang into life with a new vigour fed by the philanthropy of election candidates who donated such vehicles to demonstrate their earnest desire to not only provide gainful employment to their electorate but also ease the load on transport serving their areas. Since that rejuvenation of rickshaws in the city they have grown steadily not only in numbers but designs and have spread their wings to infiltrate posh areas where they were not seen before like DHA and Clifton. Till recently and before the ban imposed they were doing good business in these areas and had become a valuable and reliable means of transport for the housemaids serving the area. This had solved the problem of both the employer and the employed as previously it was difficult for these lady workers to reach the far corners of DHA from such long distances as Bhit Island, Mauripur, Keamari and others. Now most of these helped by their employers have struck deals with the rickshaw drivers to transport them all over Clifton and DHA so they arrive for work in time and leave for their homes as soon as their work has finished. Something has to be said about these housemaids that are providing much valuable help in running households in these posh areas of the city. Most of these housemaids are at work early in the morning and are working till late in the afternoon and even beyond. After work, they head home to then do their duty as mothers, sisters, and daughters and most probably are working till late night when dinner has been served and consumed. Getting to bed late night and then waking up again early morning as the first rays of sunlight strike their homes. What a dedicated life that goes unnoticed under our very noses and while we give awards for little or nothing no one has ever thought of giving an award and much-needed recognition to these dedicated hardworking ladies of our society. We were talking of Rickshaws and their ban on city roads in Karachi. Forgot to tell you that this ban was suggested by the DIG Traffic. Not clear if this had anything to do with growing number of fatal accidents in the city. Only yesterday another heavy-duty transport vehicle hit a vehicle full of people and while an infant lost his life two others are in critical condition in a hospital. I do not remember any Rickshaw of any kind has been involved in any fatal incident thus far, so the ban has nothing to do with it. Maybe the idea is that heavy-duty transport frustrated by the slow pace of traffic due to rickshaws on the road goes berserk and clears the way in his own fashion, resulting in these tragic accidents. Reminds me of the Urdu poetry which translated into English says “Don’t let the bumblebee wander into the garden, the firefly will die unnecessarily”. Which basically means that if the bumblebee goes into the garden and gathers sap from flowers which is later converted into wax and further transformed into candles that burn at night and attracts fire flies that die in its path. Whatever the reason for the ban on rickshaws, my suggestion is to revisit that decision, as Rickshaws are the transport of the poor. The other alternate is mini buses, about which the less said the better. Mostly, they are dirty, unkempt and invite you to occupy space on their rooftops, which is not exactly a safe place but surprisingly is allowed by the authorities who turn a blind eye as they zip past with passengers hanging on for dear life and dodging the various hazards that come in their way. By the way, rickshaws have a long history globally. It started with the cycle rickshaw, which was also known as a pedicab or trishaw, and goes back in history as far back as in the 1800s. The first rickshaws were human-pulled carriages, the cycle rickshaw came later, with early versions in the 1880s, which gained popularity in the 1920s, particularly in Singapore. In Pakistan, they replaced the once popular horse-drawn carriage known as Tonga. With such a pedigree, rickshaws do deserve a little respect and consideration, don’t you think? Copyright Business Recorder, 2025