BHOPAL: Use of E-rickshaws to ferry school children has been banned due to safety reasons in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal from Monday.The Bhopal district collector Kaushlendra Vikram Singh has ordered the ban of E-rickshaws for transport of school children, considering the vehicle not safe for children.The decision was taken based on the discussions held at the recent meeting for streamlining and ensuring safe road traffic in the MP capital.The meeting chaired on Friday by the Bhopal MP and ex-mayor Alok Sharma and attended among others by the higher ups of the district administration and the police commissionerate, had found battery powered E-rickshaws unsafe for school children.After the meeting, the district collector issued the order, banning the use of E-rickshaws to ferry school children.The order will come into effect from Monday and the school education department with the help of district administration and police will ensure that it’s duly followed.According to Bhopal police sources, around 12,500 E-rickshaws are currently registered in Bhopal. Though these battery powered vehicles aren’t attached with schools officially, many parents are using them to send their wards to school.“Fortunately, there hasn’t been any accident with school children travelling by E-rickshaw so far, but keeping in mind it’s lightweight amid the fast traffic in the city, safety is a big concern for school children going to school by the battery powered vehicle,” a Bhopal police officer told the TNIE.“In some cases, it has also been found that untrained and teenaged drivers are driving the E-rickshaws and that too at high speed, which makes the vehicle more unsafe, particularly when being used to ferry children,” sources added.
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