Warangal: Cycling goes off the track

Warangal: Is it not making a mockery of taxpayers' money or what, only the municipal authorities should answer? As if there was no space to carry plantation drive, the authorities dug holes in the cycling track that was constructed at a cost of Rs 2 crore.

The Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) authorities who claimed that they will turn Warangal into a safe haven for the cyclers has in fact buried the very concept right from the beginning when they laid a track both sides of the highway between Fathima Nagar and Subedari in Hanamkonda.

Developing the bicycle track, the GWMC projected it as a mission to create awareness among the people about eco-friendly transportation and promoting healthy lifestyle.

After laying the bicycle track, MA&UD Minister K T Rama Rao showered praise on GWMC in a tweet. He also wanted similar tracks in other towns including Hyderabad. It's been more than six months since KTR had tweeted, but the track was seldom used by the cyclists.

Speaking to The Hans India, M Chandrasekhar Reddy, general secretary of the Tri-City Riders Warangal, said, "The cycling path failed to draw desired results due to its unplanned construction. We have represented the then Mayor Gunda Prakash Rao about the flaws in the track. We told him to remove the safety bollards obstructing the track.

Though the Mayor had directed the engineers to do so, the bollards remain even today." As if this was not enough, the civic body was taking up plantation of saplings in the track which is already congested, he said.

Santhosh Manduva, founder president of Sulakshya Seva Samithi, said, "The cyclists are finding it difficult to pass through the bollards after every 100 metres. As a result, cyclists were going off the track. The track is also being occupied by the hawkers.

The motorists were also parking their vehicles in the dedicated place. Some basic research and inputs from professionals in this regard would have helped the authorities before laying the track spending huge amounts of people's money. Referring to the GWMC plans to lay a 54-kilometer cycling track in the GWMC limits area, he hoped that the authorities will rely on experts' suggestions.

On the other hand, Warangal has been one among the 11 cities chosen for the 'India Cycles 4 Change Challenge' by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The initiative was aimed at creating extensive cycling-networks through low-cost interventions like pop-up cycle lanes and traffic-calmed or non-motorised zones. Under the project, Warangal will get a grant of Rs 1 crore and guidance from national and international experts to further scale up the initiative.