Improvised three-wheeled contraptions fitted with an electric motor, popular as e-rickshaws, do not have any safety feature but form the backbone of last-mile connectivity in New Town that still limps for lack of transportation options.

It’s the morning rush hour in New Town, tens of such e-rickshaws jockey for space in front of the DLF building in New Town to get passengers who have been dropped off a bus and are in a hurry to reach their workplaces situated off the main road.

In the absence of options, both residents and thousands of others who visit New Town every day have to rely on

these unregistered e-rickshaws that are often rashly driven.

On Tuesday, a two-year-old boy, who was walking home with his mother in New Town’s Action Area I, died after an e-rickshaw hit him when the driver’s five-year-old daughter, who was left alone in the vehicle, switched on the ignition and turned the throttle, police said.

The e-rickshaw suddenly lurched forward and hit Ayush Roy Chowdhury, who used to live at Rupashree Housing Complex near the New Town bus stand. He was flung at least 10ft away, said an officer of the Bidhannagar Commissionerate.

Most of the e-rickshaws that ply in New Town and in the city are unregistered. They are plying in violation of a Calcutta High Court order banning the movement of unregistered vehicles after August 31, transport department officials said.

Most drivers don’t have a valid driving licence and the common refrain is that to drive an e-rickshaw it is not required, said an official.

“It isn’t safe at all. Most drivers don’t pay any heed to traffic rules,” said Mohua Pal, who stays at Greenwood Elements housing complex near City Centre in New Town and takes an e-rickshaw multiple times every day. “But this is the only form of transport that we get here,” said Pal.

“People living or working here know that they are at the mercy of e-rickshaw drivers as night progresses. They don’t have a choice in the absence of other modes of transport,” she said.

Not only do the three-wheelers flout traffic rules, they are often brusque with passengers. The ones that operate within the township demand unreasonably high fares after dusk, said commuters. Few dare complain.

Several residents told Metro that they had to depend on these vehicles because of lack of transport options inside the township.

Many complained that buses thin out in the afternoon and at night once the office rush hour gets over.

“Most private bus operators ply their buses based on demand. When there are fewer passengers like in the afternoon, the number of buses drops drastically,” said Bhaskar Mukherjee, who lives in New Town’s BA block.

Debashis Sen, chairman of the New Town Kolkata Development Authority, said they had increased the number of bus routes to and from the township and started app-based bike hailing services, apart from operating electric buses to improve connectivity.

Asked how unregistered e-rickshaws could ply despite a high court ban on their movement, Sen passed the buck to the transport department.

“They fall within the purview of the transport department,” said Sen.

The authorities had planned to introduce shuttle buses but now only three electric buses run on a loop on three township routes.

Township resident Oishi Bhattcharya said that once they missed an electric bus, there was no option but to book an app cab or hop onto an e-rickshaw.

“Booking a cab takes time so I prefer to hail an e-rickshaw,” said Oishi.