Every person living in Delhi-NCR knows that here. How difficult it has become to breathe the air. Vehicle smoke and smog in the sky are reducing years of our lives. On this serious issue, experts and government officials from India and abroad gathered at the India International Center (IIC) in Delhi on the occasion of ‘World Bicycle Day’ on Wednesday.
Everyone said in one voice that if cities have to be saved, then now cycling will have to be made not just a morning exercise but a daily means of commuting to office and market. This national seminar was jointly organized by India’s largest public bike sharing company ‘Smartbike’, IIC and ‘World Cycling Alliance’ of Brussels.
‘National Cycling Policy’ ready
The biggest thing about this meeting was that the draft of the country’s first ‘National Cycling Policy’ was presented. It was launched by D.V., Chairman of Smartbike and Vice President of World Cycling Alliance. Manohar has prepared it. The special thing is that the Government of India itself had asked him to make this policy, so that safe tracks and necessary arrangements can be made for cycling in the cities of the country.
IIC Director and former Civil Aviation Secretary K.N. arrived as the chief guest at the program. Srivastava said that cycling has now become the need of the hour for big areas like Delhi-NCR. At the same time, Director of the Ministry of Urban Development, Rohina Gupta assured that the government is working on these suggestions under its ‘Smart City Mission’. European experts also presented statistics and said that when governments create separate lanes for bicycles on roads, not only does traffic reduce, but people’s health also improves and there is relief from pollution.
More than 8000 cyclists will take to the streets on Sunday
The policy is in place, but to make people aware, two big cycling events are going to be held in Hyderabad and Chandigarh this Sunday. Around 5,000 people will cycle from 6 am onwards at Narsingi Smartbike Hub in Hyderabad, where former Vice President of the country M. Venkaiah Naidu will be the chief guest. Whereas around 3,000 people will gather at the Art Gallery in Chandigarh at 6 am, in which Chandigarh Chief Secretary H. Rajesh Prasad (IAS) will be included.
Now the bicycle has become hi-tech
If you are thinking that we are talking about the same old, rusty rented bicycles, then it is not so. ‘Smartbike’, the company promoting it, has about 10,000 app-powered smart and electric bicycles in the country. Their work has been so excellent that their project in Chandigarh has received the first award among all the 100 smart cities from the President of the country himself.
Not only this, ‘Startup India’ had chosen this company to present its suggestions directly to the Prime Minister, work on which is now underway. This company, in collaboration with the Indian Army (Defense Forces), is also running an eco-friendly cycling system at the army base.
Message given through seminar
The simple message of the seminar was that we cannot deal with pollution and traffic jams just by building new roads or changing vehicles. Now we have to change our thinking. To make cities livable, bicycles will have to be adopted. At the end of the program, only one slogan was echoed, “Be the future maker”, that is, start making the future better with yourself.
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