Almost a year after an announcement was made by the Communist-led government of India's eastern state of West Bengal to ban hand-pulled rickshaws in the city, considered an inhuman form of work, strong opposition in the State Assembly has not allowed the related bill to be turned into a law. The bill, seeking to amend the 87-year-old Calcutta Hackney-carriage Act of 1919, was also aimed at easing, to some extent, the traffic congestion caused by the slow-moving vehicles. –  AFP Photo Series