2-stroke rickshaws: End of the line on October 15

RAWALPINDI:

The noisy two-stroke rickshaws, which also cause much more harm to the environment than their four-stroke counterparts, are at the end of the line.

The Transport Department set October 15 as the deadline to replace or covert existing two-strike rickshaws into four-stroke ones.

In a statement, the department said that they will take action against owners of two-stroke rickshaws if they do not change the engines of their vehicles by October 15.

Members of the rickshaw union, on the other hand, denounced the order. They said that the government is creating hurdles in employment in the name of pollution.

Many of them, they said, cannot afford to have their rickshaws converted and if the move forces them into unemployment, they will launch a “strong” protest against the government.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2012.