E-rickshaw drivers lose daily wage as Jamia Nagar fire destroys vehicles

The fire that broke out in a parking space in southeast Delhi's Jamia Nagar and destroyed at least 90 vehicles will impact 50-60 people as the e-rickshaws they used to take on rent to earn their daily wage are now completely charred, says Moshin.

The 33-year-old says he will now have to look for alternative ways to earn his daily bread as he will not be able to take e-rickshaws on rent now.

A fire broke out at a metro parking lot, causing damage to at least 90 vehicles.

According to police, the area inside the Delhi Metro premises has been taken on lease by ETO Motors and is being used as a parking lot and a charging station for e-rickshaws.

"Eighty-three e-rickshaws were gutted, while 11 cars, four two-wheelers and the air-conditioners of two-three houses in the vicinity got damaged. No casualty was reported," a senior police officer said.

"The fire has definitely affected our daily earnings. We have to look for alternative ways to earn our daily bread now. Many of us are solely dependent on earnings we receive on a daily basis," Mohsin said.

Abdul Kadir, who used to taken an Eco car on rent said now he will not be able to do so as the vehicle was completely destroyed in the fire.

"It wasn't my vehicle but our business will go for a toss for at least 15 to 20 days. All the vehicles that got burnt used to be given on rent.

"Some of us are also not able to get in touch with the owner of the vehicles. We are hoping to receive help at least for our daily survival," Kadir said.

Mohammad Ali, an e-rickshaw driver, claimed over 80 such vehicles were burnt into ashes.

He said the drivers used to take the e-rickshaws on rent for Rs 400 a day.

"We have spoken to the owner who says it will take at least a month to revive the losses and get back to the business," he said.

He further stated that many of them have families and they were completely dependent on the daily wage earned by driving the e-rickshaws.

Rajamani Krishnamurthy, who managed the business of renting e-rickshaws, said over 90 per cent of vehicles were charred and it will take around a month to revive the losses.

"It is difficult to say what is the total loss but 90 per cent of the vehicles got burnt. I will have to bear the expenses of it completely. I am a little worried about how the e-rickshaw drivers will manage as it will take more than 20 to 25 days to revive the business completely again. It is a huge business loss," Krishnamurthy said.

He said parking arrangements for the new e-rickshaws will have to be done with better safety features.

"We will try our best to revive the losses as soon as possible so that the drivers are not affected. We have been in touch with the police team who are investigating the matter.

"They are saying the fire broke out from a short circuit. However, not all of the batteries of e-rickshaws got charred and we are hoping that some of them can be reused," he said.