Woes of rickshaw pullers of Agartala, Rafiq Mia can hardly make ends meet
By Our Correspondent
Agartala, August 1, 2025
Amidst the haughty high-rises and din and bustle of urban Agartala, what hardly ever draws attention is the struggle for existence of the impoverished rickshaw-pullers who supplement the transport system of the state capital . The vast majority of the rickshaw-pullers who come from outlying areas of the almost two hundred year old state capital belong to the category of the poorest of the poor and many of them continue to be deprived of basic amenities of life and even welfare schemes of the state government.
In an informal chat with this portal a rickshaw puller from Chandrapur area, east of Agartala, Rafiq Mia (56) vented his despair over the hard struggle for existence that he is in daily. “The number of rickshaw pullers who try to earn livelihood in the town is between 3-4 thousand including those who drive old-time pedal rickshaws; our main problem now stems from the no-entry points put up by the traffic department at 5-6 sensitive points in the town at the peak office hours like between 10-00 AM and 11-30 AM and again after office break between 5-00 PM and 7-00 PM; actually these are the times when we can get good number of passengers but now we are up against this barrier” said a crestfallen Rafiq.
He had driven hired pedal rickshaws for long twenty one years before switching over to driving Tom Tom for two years and then Autorickshaw for 4-5 years before reverting to battery-run rickshaws which entails less physical exertion in driving. Despite so many hardships Rafiq has been able to get three of his four sons settled in manual professions and married while his lone daughter is also married and settled in Konaban area. His youngest son is employed as a permanent labourer in Agartala Municipal Corporation. “ I now have to fend for myself and my wife but others are not so lucky; having paid Rs 220.00 as daily charge to the owner for hiring his battery run rickshaw what remains in my hand is just sufficient for food and clothing ; there will be serious trouble if I or my wife fall ill; the rent or hiring charge for pedal rickshaw is much less at Rs 50.00 daily but so is the earning” said Rafiq.
He said that Agartala Municipal Council (AMC) that used to issue licenses for rickshaws in exchange for a fee of Rs 50.00, provided medical certificate and a blood group certificates were furnished have now stopped issuing licenses. Besides, another problem is the quality of battery fitted on rickshaws as the owners mostly bring them from across the border in Bangladesh and all the batteries are of Chinese origin and of poor quality . Very often they do not even run for the entire warranty period. “We are managing to survive in spite of problems but the state government might consider including us in the network of social security allowances like many other poor professionals , that would have supplemented our income ; none of us in Chandrapur has got any governmental assistance or relief and our hope is that the state government will do something for us” said Rafiq. He also disclosed that the earlier trend of rickshaw-pullers coming daily from Bangladesh for earning something has now completely stopped.
more news...