RAUTAHAT: The number of electric rickshaws has increased sharply in Chandrapur Municipality in Rautahat district recently, replacing the diesel-consuming ones.

The electric rickshaws have become popular in a very short span of time for promoting green environment and due to its petro-free nature at a time when the fuel crisis was deepening following the border obstructions.

Currently, over 90 auto rickshaws are into operation in the Municipality.

Rickshaw drivers say that their battery could be recharged from the capacity of three watt electricity and the rickshaws ply nearly 80 kilometres once they were fully recharged.

It is learnt that with the rise in the number of auto rickshaws, the drivers who were driving the old ones have also switched to the new ones.

A rickshaw driver, Ramnath Mahato, said that the auto rickshaws have become popular to transport the goods and carry the passengers along the sub-highways in the district during a time when there was no vehicular movement for lack of petroleum products.