KARACHI: All plans to bring motorcycle-rickshaws, better known as Qingqi rickshaws, back on the roads by this week remained beyond the realms of possibility, with the provincial transport authority putting up a public notice reiterating the Supreme Court’s conditional order on their operation.

In its Jan 6 order, the SC required the Qingqi rickshaw owners to conform to certain specifications after which they could come out on the streets. The order stated that the seating capacity of the Qingqi be limited to four people with a safety guard installed at the front and back for the safety of the travellers. The motorcycle-rickshaws should be factory assembled with hydraulic brakes. The size of the front and rear wheels should be 22 and 16 inch diameter. The Qingqi/motorcycle owners are further asked to apply for the registration of route permits, fitness certificates and letter from the manufacturer or manufacturing firm. The apex court also asked the provincial transport authority (PTA) to ensure compliance of the order by submitting a report after 90 days.

According to sources, the Qingqi owners are pushing for “relief” in the implementation of the conditional order. By relief, the sources said, the Qingqi owners wanted that the motorcycle-rickshaws be allowed back on the roads before the necessary modifications, which they said would be made gradually as they came into operation.

The PTA, however, did not listen to the frequent pleas of the Qingqi owners, citing the SC order that the transport department stated was quite clear in its conditions. “They can come back on the streets from today if they want to, but only if they have complied with the conditions,” said Sindh Transport Secretary Tauha Ahmed Farooqui.

The Qingqi rickshaws were banned in Aug 2015 on the orders of the Sindh High Court. The SHC had thrown out two petitions of the Qingqi Rickshaw Owner’s Welfare Association and held the one filed by a civil rights campaigner, Rana Faizul Hasan, against the plying of Qingqi rickshaws in 2012. In his petition, Mr Hasan asked the rickshaws to be banned as they were being driven by underage drivers without route permits. In 2013, a crackdown on the Qingqi rickshaws by the then DIG traffic Ghulam Qadir Thebo was launched that resulted in protests by the Qingqi drivers.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2016