Cycling Communities: Pedalling to promote active mobility in city is their motto

Hyderabad: Active mobility is playing a key role in the city's development, as the State government is also encouraging active mobility by laying cycling tracks. Various cycling communities have joined hands to create awareness among people.

According to members of Hyderabad cycling community, the city is a rapidly growing with increasing mobility needs. "With the help of GHMC we are working towards promoting walking and cycling in the city. Till date around two lakhs of people are using bicycles for their daily commuting. Around 10,000 persons are using bicycles for fitness.

To motivate more larger communities for adopting active mobility, various awareness campaigns have been taken up. Speaking to The Hans India, Santhana Selvan, bicycle mayor of Hyderabad, said, "to promote active mobility we have planned Hyderabad Cycling revolution 3.0 where 4,000-5,000 cyclists will be on a single platform and will pedal to various streets across the city.

"We are doing various awareness programmes. In these two months we plan to touch 50 lakh people in the city. We are not forcing them to adopt active mobility; it's our first step toward spreading awareness. This ride will signify active mobility, which includes walking, cycling and public transportation (bus and Metro)."

Stretching on the Cycling tracks, he said, "State government is also encouraging people by laying cycle track, 90 km has been proposed for laying cycling track out of that 23 km cycling track is ready in the area of the Outer Ring Road (ORR). But what is the ideal thing is that to have a comprehensive bicycle lane network across the city, well-connected footpaths, efficient public transportation, bicycle parking in Metro and bus stations and allowing people to carry bicycles on Metro Rail.

Said Ravi Sambari of Hyderabad Cycling Revolution, "active mobility has multiple advantages that are good for health and also the environment. "That means zero carbon emission; it is very economical".

He said "along with various cycling communities we are visiting various educational institutions and heritage monuments. With all these campaigns, we are trying to build awareness among people. So more people know about it, talk about it. There are high chances things can change for the better."