Caught in the ‘chikanery’: How rickshaw rides turn traps for tourists
HT tries to uncover the truth behind growing complaints of tourists being fleeced by a network of autorickshaw drivers and chikan store owners
In the bustling streets of Lucknow, a network seems to be thriving, comprising rickshaw-pullers, autorickshaw drivers, and chikan store owners. Their strategic presence is notable, particularly in spots like outside the iconic Bada Imambara and along the bustling Hazratganj.
Their objective? To intercept unsuspecting passengers and divert them from their intended routes to the nearby chikan stores, all in a bid to boost customer numbers. This relationship sees drivers rewarded for successfully steering patrons towards these establishments.
To investigate the growing complaints about this practice, two HT reporters went undercover and posed as tourists while visiting both the mentioned locations. To blend in, they conversed among themselves only in Bengali.
Some tourists whom these reporters spoke to rued that they were left with a bittersweet experience of the city mostly known for its ‘adab’ (good manners) as they had been duped by this very network.
Drivers’ parlour tricks at Hazratganj
While strolling along the footpath of Janpath Market and Meena Bazaar in Hazratganj, the reporters found themselves relentlessly pursued by rickshaw wallahs and autorickshaw-drivers, all the way up to gate no.1 of the nearest Metro station. They were promptly accosted with inquiries like, “Kahaan jaana hai, chikan market (Where do you want to go, chikan market)?”
When the reporters inquired where they would be taken for shopping, a driver interjected, “Aminabad”. Even without much further query, the drivers, also self-proclaimed chikan salesmen, loudly advertised the prices of various pieces of clothing available at the stores. “Ones that cost ₹1,700 usually can be bought for ₹1,200 there,” one of them said naming a popular chikan showroom in the city that has multiple outlets. On refusing their proposal, the drivers revealed in their attempt to sound more convincing: “We’ve an understanding with the shop owners.”
“In return, the shop owners pay us some money that we use to buy blankets,” said a rickshaw-puller at Janpath Market. “On an average, we’re able to convince two-five people to be taken to stores every day,” said another at the Metro gate. Upon boarding a rickshaw, the reporters were mildly shocked when the driver took them to a shop in Qaiserbagh instead of heading to Aminabad as initially suggested.
Also, the driver made an unusual request: he wanted the reporters to pretend to be serious buyers even if they didn’t want to buy anything. Upon arriving at the shop, eager staff members hounded these reporters to buy from them. After enduring a few minutes of a relentless sales pitch, the reporters finally managed to leave. With some insistence, they asked the driver to proceed to Aminabad, where they had originally intended to go.
‘Gangs’ of Old Lucknow
Like Hazratganj, the outskirts of Bada Imambara in Old Lucknow is one such place where a so-called gang of e-rickshaw drivers and chikan store owners operates. Most drivers were seen asking commuters if they wanted to go to Chowk, an area best known for its chikan wholesale market.
“Where do you want to go, Chowk chikan market?” they asked one of the reporters who was accompanied by a friend from Delhi as both exited the monument’s gate. A simple affirmation from the reporter was all it took for the “gang” to swarm around them. Instead of taking both to the promised Charak Chauraha in Chowk, the driver took them for a ride to a narrow lane near Khunkhunji Marg leaving them with no option but to visit one of the chikan shops in the absence of a road ahead.
“As soon as the ride was over, the driver gave a head’s up to another man who was already there. The other man followed us and persuaded us to visit the chikan shops in the market,” said Shilpa Saha, the friend from Delhi.
“When I asked the man where the Chowk (wholesale) market was, he said this was it and took me to a place that he claimed was a factory where chikan clothes can be bought for the lowest of prices. I followed him. However, I noticed that the prices there and those of clothes available online were similar. A lady there made a cash memo even without me confirming the purchase. So I had to make a quick purchase in order to get away,” Saha said, calling her shopping experience in the city ‘horrendous’.
