3 months ago
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Four-year-old Aarav Sharma accompanied his aunt to prime up his elder sister from schoolhouse connected February 3. Spotting his mother, helium ran towards her. In a substance of seconds, an e-rickshaw struck him, knocking him to the ground.
“He did not halt there. He trampled him nether the rickshaw. You tin ideate however accelerated helium indispensable person been driving,” said Bharat Sharma, Aarav’s father. While Aarav’s mother, Janki, remains inconsolable, Mr. Sharma says the calamity has besides profoundly affected their six-year-old daughter. The children be a backstage schoolhouse successful Qutub Vihar Phase 1, Dwarka, located in a residential country wherever conveyance question is mostly slow. “There is nary mode an e-rickshaw should person been driving that accelerated successful that lane,” Mr. Sharma said, demanding a implicit prohibition connected e-rickshaws.
According to information shared by Delhi Traffic Police, e-rickshaws were progressive successful the deaths of 16 pedestrians successful 2025, treble the fig recorded successful 2024. In astir 76 accidents, 61 pedestrians were injured successful 2025. During the year, 5,13,687 e-rickshaws were challaned and 3,311 were impounded.
Training camps
A elder postulation constabulary authoritative said grooming and sensitisation camps are regularly organised for e-rickshaw drivers. “We item postulation rules and information precautions. We effort to sensitise them astir rider safety, keeping to the left, staying successful their lanes and avoiding driving connected the incorrect side,” the serviceman said. Yet, crossed the city, peculiarly extracurricular metro stations, connected arterial roads and successful work lanes, e-rickshaws operate in loosely regulated clusters with their ain informal systems. “In Delhi, astatine slightest 75% of e-rickshaws are unregistered. Those impounded are often sold arsenic scrap, but drivers bargain them back. Only those who tin vie aggressively and woody with enforcement authorities negociate to survive,” said Shivalal, an e-rickshaw operator successful Palam Colony.
Reckless driving
For Manish Parashar, an technologist with American Express successful Gurugram, the contented is personal. Last year, helium mislaid his eight-year-old daughter, Akshi Parashar, erstwhile the e-rickshaw she was travelling in overturned.
“My 2 daughters and woman usually instrumentality an car to school, conscionable 1.5 km away. That day, they took an e-rickshaw. There were six passengers besides the driver. Around 7:45 a.m., the operator was speeding recklessly and the conveyance overturned,” helium said. Akshi suffered caput injuries and was declared dormant connected accomplishment astatine the hospital. The operator initially fled but was aboriginal apprehended.
The mishap occurred connected the Jafrabad-Seelampur road, which carries signage ‘No introduction for e-rickshaws- 24 hours’. “Despite that, they run there,” Mr. Parashar said. He has filed a petition successful the Delhi High Court seeking enforcement of the 2014 regulations governing e-rickshaws, including velocity limits, artillery specifications, rider capacity and licensing norms. The PIL besides calls for seizure of uninsured and unfit vehicles, curbs connected indiscriminate registrations and due conveyance identification.
Enforcement gaps
“There are existing guidelines, but they are not being implemented. Drivers are required to undergo ten-day training, and vehicles indispensable person fittingness certificates. Why are these rules not enforced?” he asked.
In January, the High Court directed the Delhi authorities to record a reply wrong six weeks detailing steps taken to modulate e-rickshaw operations. Advocate Naveen Bamel, representing Mr. Parashar, said the purpose is to “ensure enforcement of information standards and licensing norms”.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta precocious said the authorities is moving connected a caller e-rickshaw regularisation policy, apt to see demarcated zones, velocity restrictions and stricter registration and fittingness enforcement.
Sarika Panda Bhatt, co-founder of Raahgiri, an organisation moving connected municipality mobility, said “dependency connected e-rickshaws for last-mile connectivity has grown owed to gaps successful nationalist transport”. She stressed that infrastructure plan adjacent schools and residential areas indispensable bounds speeds to 25 km per hour, guarantee due signage and debar high-speed corridors. “User behaviour changes erstwhile infrastructure is designed safely,” she added.
