There was a rhythm in the city on Saturday as there was no traffic jam except signal jams in some points. Commuters believe that it is better to walk than remain standstill in a suffocating traffic jam and it is possible to reach the destination faster on foot than riding rickshaws in a city of traffic jams.

The capital is the mirror of a country and speed is the main thing of it. But it is not possible for anybody to reach anywhere in this metropolis in due time because of traffic snarls. Thousands of working hours are lost every day because of traffic jam. It is not possible to attract foreign direct investment if it takes two hours to reach Motijheel from Farmgate.

According to sources, there are four to seven lakh rickshaws of which only 87,000 have valid licenses. These illegal rickshaws are contributing to tremendous traffic jam in the city mainly on narrow roads and alleys where there are neither traffic signal posts, nor traffic police.

The capital with limited roads and thoroughfares is no longer in a position to bear the burden of excessive load of vehicles, but it is learnt that about 100 illegal rickshaws enter the city every day to add to the snarl-up. Moreover, seasonal rickshaw pullers come to the city during the holy month of Ramadan, ahead of Eid, to earn some extra money spreading traffic jams to new areas.

Traffic jam is a must when slow moving vehicles like rickshaws, rickshaw-vans and motor vehicles run side by side.

So it is time to ban rickshaws in the city. Some people argue that there should be an alternative resettlement project before banning rickshaws. I do not agree with it because it is a silly argument that people will come to the city from village to run rickshaws and the government will provide jobs for them only because they are rickshaw-pullers. It has become a fashion to demand that if anybody takes shelter in a slum, the government would not evict him/her without resettlement.

Rickshaw-pullers should return to villages and work as labourers in the agriculture sector.