Rickhaw Drivers
Rickshaw drivers in India make their living by transporting people
and goods in the cities and towns. Although there are now
motorized rickshaw scooters, most of the major cities still have
hundreds of men who make their living by operating cycle rickshaws.
Rickshaws which are operated by the driver running on foot and pulling the rickshaw behind him were outlawed by the
government, with the exception of Calcutta, where the
union of rickshaw drivers refused to accept the legislation.
Many of the men who are employed as rickshaw drivers have recently
migrated to the cities leaving their families behind in the
villages in order to tend their fields. They may not return to
their villages for months at a time. Consequently, at many
locations in any Indian city you can observe enclaves of rickshaw
drivers who live, eat and sleep next to the roadside.
Click here for photographs.
