The process of fitness, safety and registration of Qinqi rickshaws could be delayed for one-year as the Sindh Transport Department has identified 17 engineering defects in these rickshaws that need to be rectified by their manufacturing companies first for ensuring safety of commuters and only then, the transport department would issue them fitness certificates, said an official at Sindh Transport Department here on Friday.
Transport Department Sindh has pointed out 17 engineering defects in Qinqis including lack of hydraulic brakes, reverse brakes, and safe infrastructure, which is dangerous for commuters, particularly old men, women and children, said Sindh Transport Department's Component Manager Yar Muhammad while talking to PPI.
Yar Muhammad said that they had asked the manufacturing companies concerned to rectify safety issues in Qinqi rickshaws identified by Sindh Transport Department so that the department could issue them fitness and registration certificates. The safety of commuters is most important than their transportation, he added. He said as per the Supreme Court orders, they were working to give those rickshaws a proper look and would register them under the Transport Department, but the safety issue should be resolved before allowing them to operate in city's roads.
Yar Muhammad said, after their fitness and registration of those bike rickshaws, only licensed drivers would be allowed to drive the rickshaws in the city. It may be noted that shortage of doctors and equipment at all three branches of Karachi Licence Department is causing trouble to new applicants who want their licences. The licence department lacks doctors, where only one doctor is working in the place of four doctors to conduct the medical fitness tests of majority of applicants applying for learner and permanent licences in all three licence branches including Korangi licence branch, Nazimabad licence branch and Clifton licence branch.
The department will be unable to accommodate large number of unlicensed Qinqi rickshaw drivers who will shortly apply for their Motor Cab Rickshaw (MCR) Licence to run their Qinqi rickshaws in the city after the decision of SC allowing them on condition of their proper fitness, safety, and registration.
The establishing of new 18 licence centers at town level and four full-fledged licence branches in the remaining districts of the city is in doldrums as the Sindh government had delayed the issuance of funds as a result, the citizens are suffering inconvenience of standing in long queues for hours for applying their licences.