With streets across the country increasingly dominated by battery-powered rickshaws and e-bikes, the question must be asked: Has this transport revolution, which has unquestionably reduced physical labour for hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshis no longer needing to haul vehicles, outpaced the state’s ability to govern?

Battery-powered rickshaws have been deemed unsafe from the moment they were on the streets. With drivers regularly flouting traffic rules at alarming speeds, it has become more urgent than ever to have some sort of regulation around them.

As things currently stand, with millions of battery-powered vehicles operating nationwide, what began as an affordable mobility option has unfortunately metastasized into a crisis of lawlessness and power theft. 

It is the illegal charging points siphoning electricity, unregistered factories producing rickshaws, and informal garages dismantling expired lead-acid batteries that are some of the glaring issues that must be addressed. 

We understand that banning these vehicles outright was never the solution, and attempts to do so in the past have predictably failed. However, while there are countless individuals who rely on them for livelihoods and affordable transport, the solution has to be regulation.

Here again, it is the job of the law enforcement agencies to do better, and not only ensure regulations but crack down on the garages and illegal charging points and factories that make these vehicles a liability rather than an asset for the nation. 

For too long have we let battery-powered vehicles operate unchecked - yet again we are trading short-term convenience for long-term catastrophe. We need them registered and regulated, for the betterment of the entire country.