Cooch Behar municipality chairman seeks public insights to tackle e-rickshaw congestion

Cooch Behar: The Cooch Behar Municipality is taking decisive action to address the issue of traffic congestion caused by e-rickshaws in the city. The influx of e-rickshaws from outside the city has led to severe traffic jams, significantly inconveniencing local residents.

The public is calling for swift solutions to alleviate this problem. Cooch Behar Municipality’s Chairman, Rabindranath Ghosh, seeking insights from the public, has reached out on social media platforms to solicit advice from the community. Furthermore, he has engaged in consultations with municipal officials both within and beyond the district, drawing upon their expertise to inform the municipality’s response. According to sources within the municipality, the city of Cooch Behar currently has around a thousand e-rickshaws run by locals. However, a substantial number of additional e-rickshaws enter the city daily from outside areas which has resulted in severe traffic congestion. “We cannot permit unchecked entry of e-rickshaws from outside the city. Their unregulated presence hampers road traffic, disrupts ambulance services, and turns a five-minute drive into a 25 to 30-minute ordeal. A solution needs to be devised,” Ghosh said.

Prominent lawyer of Cooch Behar, Shibendranath Roy, remarked: “The prevalence of e-rickshaws has made it exceedingly challenging for residents to navigate the city. If the municipality takes assertive steps, it would greatly benefit the general populace.”