Hand pulled rickshaws once a prominent sight on the streets of the ‘city of joy’ will soon bid a silent farewell to the people of Kolkata. The prohibition on hand-pulled rickshaws was formalized on Monday, with the West Bengal Assembly passing the Calcutta Hackney Carriage (Amendment) Bill, 2006. Over the years hand pulled rickshaws assumed a significance of its own and were considered a suitable means of transport for negotiating the narrow and dingy lanes of Kolkata. During heavy downpours that resulted in massive water logging in Kolkata streets, people relied heavily on this unique means of transport for moving from one place to another with ease while the more modern mechanized means of transport proved ineffective in coping with the situation. The rickshaws were particularly favored by the infirm and the elderly for traveling at a leisurely pace to the destinations of their choices though not for great distances. With the government deciding to clamp a ban on this slow moving means of transport, Kolkata will certainly assume a new look with the human machine ceasing to exist.