The owners of public transport vehicles, taxis, and rickshaws owners in Rawalpindi are installing a small-size air cooler because of the rise in heat in the city. Owing to its low cost and efficiency, the demand for these coolers, which are manufactured in Lahore, has been thriving.
These machines are 18 inches wide and 24 inches in height and can fit easily in the rear of a rickshaw. They are filled with water and run on small battery-powered motors. The water is changed or refilled every six hours. Instead of water, ice can also be poured into these coolers as a cooling agent.
In Rawalpindi’s hot weather, citizens prefer to travel in rickshaws and taxis that are equipped with these coolers.
A rickshaw driver, David John, told The Express Tribune that the coolers are sold for between Rs2,000 to Rs2,700. In contrast to its small size, they bring down the internal temperature of a vehicle to a great extent.
Another rickshaw driver, Azmat Khan, he used to drive rickshaws in extremely hot weather but now the machines protect him from the heat. “Now the passenger and I can enjoy a relaxing ride,” he said, adding that the fares of rickshaws had not been increased after installing the cooler which they could dismantle in winter and reinstall every summer.
Passengers Anila Begum and Khursheed Ahmed told The Express Tribune that the small coolers are a wonderful invention as passengers could now travel comfortably.
Haji Ibrahim, the mechanic who manufactures these coolers, said one summer day he reached a shop on a rickshaw with goods in the scorching heat. He came up with a solution to make the rickshaw ride convenient and made these small-sized coolers. The size of the machine is kept miniscule to fit easily in a tri-wheeler. He added that the small coolers are very convenient.
Ibrahim has also started manufacturing these small-size coolers for small shops, tuck shops near intersections, hotels, and even for push carts and stall owners.
He said that they have also installed the machines for vendors in different markets and have proven to be effective in decreasing the suffocating.
He has received orders from the drivers of rickshaws, as well as small vendors for the inexpensive solution to beat the heat.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 7th, 2021.
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