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Bhubaneswar: In a bid to promote cycling in the Capital city, Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) in association with Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is going to host ‘Cycles4Change’ campaign October 9 to make Bhubaneswar one of the most prominent bicycle-friendly cities of India.
The challenge aims to help the city administration connect with the citizens, cycle enthusiasts as well as experts to develop a unified vision and initiatives to promote cycling as a mode of transport among one and all.
Bhubaneswar is one of the 95 cities in India to have registered for ‘India Cycles4Change Challenge’, an initiative of Smart Cities Mission of the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry.
As part of the campaign, a 12-km long cycle rally called ‘Cyclegiri – Respect4Cyclists’ will be organised from Ekamra Plaza Janpath to Dhauli at 6:30am Friday.
Through this programme, the city administration urges everyone to embrace cycling as a mode of transport in their daily life and give respect to cyclists on roads as these small efforts will eventually help the city become cleaner and greener.
BMC Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary said, “Through this challenge, registered cities will implement quick interventions to create a safe and cycling-friendly city through community participation. We have accepted the Cycles4Change challenge to promote cycling in Bhubaneswar. We are working on creating small cycle paths or loops in residential areas to help citizens in doing their daily activities like going to market, offices on cycles.”
“Above anything else, we want to promote healthy lifestyle among the citizens by encouraging them to take to cycling,” he added.
The Commissioner further said, “Truck, bus and car drivers will take a pledge on how to let a cyclist feel safe on road while appearing for the driving license test.”
He said that interested citizens can volunteer and mobilise volunteers for the initiatives, spread the word through social networking platforms and in their communities.
During the event, dedicated cycle routes in the city will be announced, cyclegiri anthem will be launched.
The campaign which will continue till December 14 which includes a host of activities – both online and on ground to create public interest and making cycling an integral part of their lives. The administration hopes over 8,000 cyclists will be registered in the Cycle4Change Campaign by December 13 and become a part of #Cycle4Change social movement.
Celebrities can post videos on their Facebook & Instagram handles with #FridayCycleDay hashtag. Citizens taking part in #CycleGiri and #CycleDayFriday can tag to BMC and Smart City pages.
Cycling offers us a healthy, affordable and COVID-safe solution for a green recovery. Through this challenge, a city will have to create a shared vision with their citizens. Every citizen should come together to ignite a cycling transformation in Bhubaneswar.
