Govt plans to start pink rickshaws driven by women

Titled ‘Pink Rickshaws’, the scheme will not only provide a means of livelihood to poor women in metro cities, but also fulfil the need for safe modes of transport for women, said women and child development minister Aditi Tatkare

Mumbai: If all goes according to plan, 10 cities across Maharashtra including Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur will soon get pink e-rickshaws driven by women soon. The women and child department has presented a plan to this effect to deputy chief minister and finance minister Ajit Pawar, wherein the government will provide 20% subsidy to unemployed women to buy a rickshaw; applicants will have to bear 10% of the cost, while the balance 70% will be covered by bank loans.

Pune, India - February 6, 2020: Under the initiative of Maharashtra Rickshaw Panchayat, the first rickshaw stand of women in Pimpri Chinchwad city has been started at Bhakti Shakti Chowk Nigdi in Pune, India, Thursday, February 6, 2020. (HT PHOTO)

Titled ‘Pink Rickshaws’, the scheme will not only provide a means of livelihood to poor women in metro cities, but also fulfil the need for safe modes of transport for women, women and child development minister Aditi Tatkare said during her presentation. Pawar gave a positive response to the scheme, said officials.

Dr Prashant Narnaware, commissioner, women and child development department said 5,000 pink rickshaws have been proposed for the first year of the scheme. These rickshaws will operate in Mumbai city, Mumbai suburban, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Panvel, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik, Chatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Nagpur.

“As per the proposed plan, women applicants will have to contribute only 10% of the rickshaw cost. The state government will give 20% subsidy and the rest 70% will be on bank loan,” said Narnaware. He said the department had proposed e-rikshaws in the pink rickshaw scheme as they are environment-friendly and will also need less maintenance.

Shashank Rao, president of Mumbai Autorickshaw Taximen’s Union opposed the scheme saying, “These are nothing but fancy ideas or stunts. We must understand that even now, many women have permits for normal rickshaws. Many of them have given their vehicles on lease and are earning from it.”

The problem with the pink rickshaw scheme, he said, was that only women could drive such rickshaws. “So, if the women fall ill or have some other problem, they cannot lease out such rikshaws,” said Rao. He noted that if the government wants to empower women, they should give them normal rickshaw permits instead.

The plan for starting special rickshaws driven by women is not new. The state government had launched the ‘Aboli Rickshaw’ scheme for women with much fanfare a few years ago. The scheme did not have any provision for subsidy – applicants were required to pay 15% of the vehicle cost under the scheme, while the balance 85% was covered by bank loans. Though the scheme was target-based and focused on metro cities, it was not successful and hardly any ‘aboli rickshaws’ are visible in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai today.