Only SC-approved Qingqi rickshaws to ply streets

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered that Qingqi rickshaws from only some manufacturers will be allowed to ply the streets.

The decision came on Wednesday when the top court heard appeals against the ban on the Qingqi rickshaw- a local mode of transportation where a motorbike pulls a wagon which can carry upto six passengers. It ruled that only manufacturers approved by the SC will be allowed on the streets.

During the proceedings today Justice Gulzar Ahmed remarked that buses dating back to the 1950s and rickety Rickshaws are on the streets of Karachi. He said that these Qingqi rickshaws are dangerous.

The state prosecutor told the court that in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, a ban is in place on illegal Qingqi rickhsaws.

Justice Gulzar said that the government had no official data about illegal Qingqi rickshaws. “The government is running Orange Line, Metro and Green bus, but at the same time the streets are full of these Qingqi.”

He said that the government keeps sleeping over an issue until it becomes massive, and several people get employed through alternate arrangements. “Now the government needs to rehabilitate and provide employment [to the people affected by this decision]”.