WB threatens to stop fund

"We have had a study done on the impact of the rickshaw ban. It showed although traffic system improved substantially because of the ban, it shrunk the income of the rickshawpullers by 30 percent and increased cost of commuting of the passengers," said Guang Z Chen, sector manager, transport, South Asia Region, yesterday.

"We have asked the government to take mitigation measures on these two issues by March 31 and suspend any more ban before the steps are taken," said Chen. "We will not support the Dhaka Urban Transport Project unless these measures are taken."

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He said the second phase of the ban imposed in December last was supposed to incorporate the mitigation measures, but this was not done accordingly. Of the total 120km roads supposed to be off-limits to rickshaws, only 9km have been made free of the non-motorised vehicle. This has adversely affected 9,000 rickshawpullers, Chen said.

He said the Bank has communicated its position to the government and the Dhaka Transport Coordination Board (DTCB) and Dhaka City Corporation will meet in a few days to decide on mitigation measures.

Chen admitted that the safety-net programme for the rickshawpullers would be a difficult one to chalk out but said retraining and micro-credit interventions could be the best solutions.

So far, the Bank has supported the DUTP with about $85 million and is willing to continue its funding, if the mitigation measures are taken.