Chandigarh, Feb 17- Battery driven auto rickshaws have been given away to 40 rickshaw pullers free of cost in Sirsa today thus making it the first such city in North India.
While stating this today, a spokesman of district administration said that MP from Sirsa, Dr. Ashok Tanwar gave away these auto rickshaws in a function organized at Sirsa. He said that these rickshaws have been purchased at a cost of Rs. 32 lakh by the District Administration under backward area grant fund scheme. Earlier, Dr. Tanwar also inaugurated a charging parking shed in traffic park setup to recharge batteries of these rickshaws.
He said that this scheme was approved only for districts Mahendergarh and Sirsa. He said that District Administration had invited applications from eligible rickshaw pullers for these rickshaws. Out of 80 auto rickshaw pullers who had applied for these rickshaws, 40 were selected. He said that each auto rickshaw puller would have to pay Rs. 20 per day to recharge the battery.
He said that a trial was conducted in the city to determine the battery backup. The terms set by the Administration for purchasing these rickshaws included that the battery backup should be at least eight hours. After charging, this rickshaw could run upto 90 kms and it would carry only four passengers. He said that the speed of this battery rickshaw would also be set. No rickshaw puller would be able to carry more than four passengers and if he does, a red beep would start beeping and the rickshaw would not turn on, he added.