Chandigarh: The Chandigarh Administration has decided to phase out all petrol and diesel-run autorickshaws by August. They will be run by LPG now. Secretary (Transport) Ram Niwas, who is also the UT Home Secretary, made the announcement while inaugurating the 20th National Road Safety Week in Chandigarh on Thursday.

Calcutta High Court on Tuesday refused to extend the deadline for old and polluting autorickshaws.

The state government

It has been touted as a solution to urban India's traffic woes, chronic pollution and fossil fuel dependence, as well as an escape from backbreaking human toil.

A state-of-the-art, solar-powered version of the humble cycle-rickshaw promises to deliver on all this and more.

Solar power: Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Union Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal riding a solar-electric rickshaw after launching it in Delhi on Thursday.

The provincial transport minister, Akhtar Hussain Jadoon, said that permits for old rickshaws could be renewed till June 30, 2010 provided they used silencers which produced relatively less noise and emission as introduced by the Rickshaw Owners' Association (ROA).

He was speaking to an ROA delegation that called on him here on Thursday. The meeting was attended by Secretary Transport Rasheed Alam, Additional Advocate-General Sarwar Khan, SP Traffic Zulfikar Maher, DO transport, SRTC chairman Yar Mohammed Jutt and the chairman of the Rickshaw Owners' Association, Hakam Khan Jadoon.

June 29: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will soon begin a pilot project to test the efficacy of its new rickshaw policy. The standing committee is soon to approve a proposal to launch the rickshaw policy in the Sadar Paharganj and City zone areas. The project to be executed through a private firm will include issuing the new licences, use of the microchips to track the licensed rickshaws and display of the advertisements on the rickshaws. The pilot project was finalised in consultation with the association of rickshaw drivers.

The sleepy south-western Punjab township of Fazilka suddenly has a truly amazing new claim to world fame

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has so far handed over about 50,000 environment friendly CNG rickshaws worth more than Rs 5.5 billion to applicants all over Pakistan under its Rozgar scheme. This was stated by the Group Chief Consumer Banking NBP Aamir Siddiqui in an interview here Monday. He said that about 75,000 applicants have been registered so far under the scheme involving a total amount of Rs 7.5 billion. He pointed out 20,000 registered applicants are waiting for the deliveries of CNG rickshaws from the manufacturers.

Pedal Soldier of india