DEDICATED CORRIDORS FOR CYCLISTS

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 13: The civic body plans to build a cycle corridor between Lingaraj Temple and Nandankanan zoo, two major tourist destinations of the city, to encourage environment-friendly mobility.

The 16km-long cycle corridor will be a part of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation's (BMC) initiative under smart city project.

BMC officials said that the cycle track would come up on both sides of the existing road connecting the two tourist attractions. The track would be fitted with special tiles to ensure better gripping for bicycles and would also be painted black and yellow.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said that the new proposal would encourage use of future-friendly non-motorized mode of transportation in the city.

"Many foreigners are seen using bicycles here for transportation. A dedicated cycling corridor will also encourage the residents to opt for this pollution-free mode of transport. This will also help reduce traffic chaos in the city," he said.

The mayor added that they had plans to set up two more such cycling corridors in Bhubaneswar.

In November, a survey by Marketing Association of XIMB (Maxim), a students' body that specialises in marketing, had revealed that more and more residents, especially youngsters, are choosing bicycles to become future-friendly in the age of global warming. The survey, which involved more than 4,000 residents, revealed that 92 per cent of the respondents were in favour of creating dedicated corridors for cyclists in the city. Besides, 92 per cent of respondents also chose bicycle rental scheme for non-motorised transport system.

The civic body's chief engineer (roads) B.C. Pradhan said that Bhubaneswar Development Authority would rope in a consultant to prepare a detailed project report for the dedicated cycling corridor. "We will also give our inputs to make the track cycle friendly," said Pradhan.

Though the city has a 8.3km-long cycling corridor between Raj Bhavan Square and KIIT Square, it has lost its purpose due to unauthorized parking and illegal use of the track by motorcyclists. The cycling corridor had come up in 2008 at an estimated cost of Rs 3 crore.

Signboards, which were installed on the stretch to make people aware that the track was to be used only by cyclists, are now covered with bills and posters. The corridor also needs urgent repair of track as cracks have developed at various points.

However, BMC officials said that this time, they would constitute a committee, consisting of officials from police and several concerned government departments, to ensure that the cycle track was not encroached upon. "We will also ensure that motorcycles do not to ply on the new cycle corridor," said a BMC official.

Piyush Ranjan Rout, the founder of "We All Ride Bicycle", a group of youths promoting cycling in the city, said that the authorities should earmark a portion of each road in the city to be used by cyclists.

Cycling has lately been attracting a number of youths here. In October, a team of six cycling enthusiasts, including IPS officers Sanjeeb Panda and Lalit Das, had cycled from here to Bhutan. The team covered a distance of 1,252km, including a 170-km mountain ride from Phuntsholing to Thimpu, in 12 days.