A slice of Delhi's culture has come to an end this week with the banning of rickshaws from Chandni Chowk, the historic artery running through the ancient walled part of the city which is famed for its narrow streets and crowded bazaars. City officials acted to confront the notorious jams that block the market street by outlawing the pedal-powered rickshaws and introducing instead a fleet of bright green buses using compressed natural gas to ferry shoppers back and forth for just 5 Rupees (6 pence) a ride.

A quick straw poll yesterday suggested most store owners welcomed the move, believing it had make things easier for shoppers. "I think it's much better. It's easier for customers," said Aman Pintu, 30, who was at work in the Shri Khrisna Jewellers.

Arif Miem, who works as an accountant for a jewelry and electronics business on the street, said: "This is the very best for everyone. The traffic goes much faster. It's much easier to move from one place to another."

The Delhi High Court passed the order May 17 banning cycle rickshaws from the street that runs from the city's 17th Century Red Fort to the Fatepuri mosque, along with hand carts and those drawn by animals. The order came into effect on Monday and police were yesterday in force chasing away any rickshaw pullers looking to break the ban.

While many residents and workers may welcome the move, saying that getting rid of the cycle rickshaws has helped disentangle the traffic jams, the rickshaw pullers who once plied their trade here are unhappy, saying their livelihoods - only marginal at the best of times - have now been further threatened.

"What will I do, how will I feed my family?" one of them told the Indo-Asian News Service. "I work from eight in the morning until late night. From whatever I earn, I have to pay a monthly rent to the owner of the rickshaw as well. What will I do after this only means of livelihood is snatched away from me?"

Another, Hamid Bashir, pointed out that motorised vehicles other than the news buses - including auto-rickshaws - were still permitted on the market street. "They might chase us away but what about the two- and three-wheelers, what about the cars? The congestion will remain."

Chandni Chowk, with its street food and clothes stores, its intense smells and its mass of impoverished humanity, is a feature of the traditional India that remains a million miles from the high-tech, booming country one hears so much about. The narrow streets that run off the road create a labyrinthine network of passages, some barely wide enough for two people to pass on.

Authorities are adamant that the changes are here to stay. "The ban has been implemented," said Deep Mathur, a spokesman for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). "Except [for a few], rickshaws in Chandni Chowk are off the roads."

(By Andrew Buncombe, The Independent, 14/06/2007)