Rimjim rimjim Hyderabad, Rickshawallah Zindabad Muduchakramulu
Giragira Thiruguthey Motoru caru Baladhur….
This song depicting the significance of cycle rickshaw in a Chalam-starrer brings back the vignettes of times well-spent for the aging denizens. Many, for sure, would like to take to grave those unforgettable rides they enjoyed on the once-popular private transport in Vijayawada.
The humble neighbourhood cycle rickshaws were a regular sight on the city thoroughfares until auto rickshaws made them redundant in the 1980s.
Rickshaw rides were a status symbol in 1960s and 1970s and they used to give the customer the privileged tag. “Those days if you want to move faster you should hop into a rickshaw. The affluent used to hire the three-wheeler. One felt like a maharaja sitting in an open-top rickshaw waving at the friends moving on foot,” reminisces G. Phani, a city chronicler.
District administrators gave importance to this transport system and earmarked separate enclosures at railway stations, bus terminals, bus stops and at busy junctions. As the number of rickshaw-pedallers grew exponentially political parties, especially the Left, launched trade unions for them striving for their welfare. “Rickshaw-pedallers helped us beef up our cadre and we made use of them to propagate political ideologies,” says CPM leader Donepudi Kasinath.
Hanumanpet erstwhile hub
Vijayawada’s Hanumanpet was once the hub of rickshaw garages and several of them churned out hundreds of brand-new vehicles. “At one point of time there were over 30,000 rickshaws in Vijayawada, both owned by owners and hypothecated to banks. There used to be more than 500 owners operating from the area. Those garages used to execute orders from Ongole, Kavali, Tirupati, Bhimavaram, Gudivada and Machilipatnam in coastal Andhra Pradesh,” says Mr. Kasinath.
“Vijayawada rickshaw is a replica of the Nagpur model. Long ago one Imam made a replica of Nagpur rickshaw and henceforth all the workshops began producing this type of vehicle,” says Raju, who has been in the field for more than 45 years.
Sixty-six-year-old Raju was once a garage owner at Hanumanpet with around dozen workers giving shape to a rickshaw by assembling various components. “I am now a worker. I have just two to help me. We mostly take up repair works,” he says.
When the Communist regime was at the helm in the civic body, the rickshaw workshops at Hanumanpet were shifted close to the Government Hospital. “When we moved here, we had more than 50 shops but now hardly there are half-a-dozen waiting for orders”.
Rapid urbanisation and people’s urge to move faster made rickshaws redundant. While the rest of the city adopted newer modes of transport, the good old rickshaw thrives in colonies with lanes because the locals still feel it is the best way to negotiate the narrow roads. “There are people who still hire a rickshaw for short distances. But their number is fast dwindling,” says Mahadev Appa Rao, a rickshaw-puller. “While both autos and share autos have hiked their rates, cycle rickshaw rates continue to remain the same.”
“The untouchables”
One stroll on the Andhra Patrika Road and Durgapuram reveals the plight of rickshaw owners, who once made a good chunk of money by letting their vehicles on hire. “Earlier people came from neighbouring villages like Madhira, Kodada, Gudivada, Machilipatnam and Dosapadu to take pedal rickshaws for hire. As there are no takers hundreds of vehicles are laying on the roadside,” says owner Kasi Reddy.
“If I dismantle I will get pittance. Nobody is interested in travelling in rickshaws. I used to operate for schools, and offices,” says Mr. Reddy, who owns 30 “unused” rickshaws.
When rickshaws ruled the roads, there were rules and regulations to monitor the fitness of the vehicles. ‘We were given licenses in the shape of a wristband. Later there was periodical vehicle check-up at PWD Grounds and the test was stringent for applying brakes,” says Mr. Raju.
Auto rickshaws and later share autos literally pushed cycle rickshaws into oblivion and the present workshop owners say soon the rickshaws will exit from the roads. “Some rickshaw-pedallers graduated to auto drivers while a big chunk began working at hotels and in agricultural fields. Some are pulling platform rickshaws mostly used to haul merchandise by traders,” says Mr. Reddy.
FACTFILE
Bells, lights and good brakes were mandatory for rickshaws in 1960s and 1970s.
Rickshaws played an important rule during elections in city.
Political parties used them to pedal voters to the voting booths.
