A novel concept of a rickshaw bank providing loans to rickshawpullers here has changed the lives of many needy youth helping them to earn a better living in Guwahati. The idea of a rickshaw bank, the first of its kind in the country, was mooted by Pradip Kumar Sarmah, who runs an NGO, after he conducted a survey and found that most of the rickshawpullers did not possess a rickshaw of their own. "About 95% of the rickshawpullers hired the rickshaw and a major part of their meagre earnings went in payment of a rent which I thought was very unjust', says Sarmah, who heads Centre for Rural Development.