Dhaka, Feb. 8 -- State Minister for Power Nasrul Hamid says he wants to personally encourage the use of battery-run autorickshaws despite the many complaints against them.

He described the three-wheel electric vehicles as 'Bangla Teslas' in parliament.

"We want them to shift from lead batteries to lithium batteries," he said. "We are undertaking a pilot project to push for it."

The state minister highlighted the government initiatives on the vehicles in response to a question from ruling party MP Shamim Osman during a parliamentary session on Thursday.

Osman asked for the battery-run autorickshaws to be banned.

"Battery-run autorickshaws are operating," he said. "Batteries are being installed on rickshaws too. These are very dangerou...