In September I
wrote about this ingenious home-grown people-mover, called a Nosiman (as Rajputro pointed out). I looked at another one yesterday. Built around a diesel irrigation pump, it can carry a dozen or more people around narrow, uncrowded village streets.
I had questions about the brakes and took a look. The brake pedal is at the front, bottom-right of the driver (with the criss-cross pattern).
This pedal pulls on a rod connected to a kind of rubber sheet wrapped around the rear axle. When the brake is applied, this sheet tightens and slows down the vehicle.
How well does it brake? Don't expect Bembo performance but, I heard, not too bad given the unsual design.
The vehicle appears totally locally designed (except for the motor of course.) Oh yeah, they cost Tk 40000 each and the driver earns around Tk 300 per day.
We also passed a rickshaw (!) fitted with one of these pumps. It was weird to see the rickshaw-wallah sitting on his seat doing nothing while the rickshaw moved at a good clip. Will take a closer look next time.
sistunes
Saturday, November 4, 2006
Related Posts
My Book on SundarbanMy photo book on Sundarban is now available from Blurb. The book is called Sundarban - A Photograph
A Sudden RainI was out one sunny morning last week. This being rainy season, storm clouds gathered suddenly.Soo
Victory Day 2009 PhotosPhotos from on or near Suhrawardy Udyan on Bijoy Dibosh (Victory Day) 2009:Victory Day Fun:Victory 
Where Homeworks Go To Die:-)
Kids with GunsThe photographer William Klein has a great photo of kids playing with guns. It is a vivacious pictu
BagerhatBagerhat, a small town, is less than an hour's drive from Khulna, about two hours from Jessore. It