OdishaLIVE Bureau
The world celebrates Bicycle Day on 3rd June. With the pollution increasing at an ever-faster-rate, bicycles are an environment-friendly option to travel; with the health benefits being infinite.
India celebrated Bicycle Day with utmost enthusiasm in cities like Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
#RightToRide bike raly was hosted by Honda Motors in partnership with Niti Ayog to promote sustainable mobility in Delhi. Meanwhile, Harsha Vardhan, Minister of Health and Family Welfare tweeted “#Cycling is a simple,affordable, reliable,clean & environmentally sustainable means of transport. #UNGA has declared June 3 as #WorldBicycleDay to underline contribution of cycling to sustainable development goals. It’s my fav sport too 2 #BeatAirPollution @UN (sic),”
One of the perks of living in Bhubaneswar is that every car journey takes less than 10kms, which means a wise system should promote bicycles over car for they are affordable, eco-friendly and your body will thank you at the end of the day. However, the scenario is exactly the other-way-around. The roads are full of cars and bikes with no space for cyclists or peddlers.
Over 1,37,000 people were killed in road accidents in 2013 alone, that is more than the number of people killed in all our wars put together. 16 children die on Indian roads daily and there is one death every four minutes due to a road accident in India.
With bicycle renting apps like Mo Cycle, one need not take the stress to go ahead and buy one for himself. Rather sit back, book and ride! Mo Cycle is Bhubaneswar’s official Public Bicycle Sharing (PBS) system, launched by the Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for providing Public Transport Services in the cities of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri. The PBS system has been operated and managed on a partnership model between CRUT, Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) and three private operators- YULU, YAANA and HERO-HEXI.
Prashant Nanavare, a member of a non-commercial and not-for-profit platform, The Cycle Katta is devoted exclusively for cyclists. According to him, it’s a platform where cyclists come together to share their experiences and concerns. He says, “Cycling as an activity shouldn’t be forced on someone, everyone should take the responsibility to use bicycles. We shouldn’t ask for cycling tracks. First we need to come out on the roads in large numbers to show that we care about cycling and then the authorities will make tracks for us.”
