Promote cycling to reduce pollution: Chandrababu Naidu

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in a review meeting held in the city on Wednesday said that the promotion of cycling may be taken up in both Guntur and Vijayawada cities apart from the capital city, Amaravati with the motive to reduce pollution.

The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) and All India Bicycling Federation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote cycling in Capital Region here in Vijayawada, in the presence of the Chief Minister.

Special cycle parks would be maintained along with the existing parks and canal bunds and certain roads along the river side would be developed as special cycle zones, he suggested.

CRDA commissioner Dr Sreedhar said that special cycling tracks would be developed on the 1620 kms length of roads that are being formed in the Amaravati capital city. In Vijayawada city, initially 3 bike stations, one each on Eluru road, Bundar road and on the road from Benz circle to Ramavarappadu Ring will be arranged, he added.

All India Bicycling Federation chairman D Manohar said that the non-motorised transportation system is being encouraged all over the world nowadays. Cycling was the only alternative system encouraged to reduce pollution and traffic congestions, he said. To create awareness on public bike sharing system, a major cycling event would be organised in December, he explained.

Minister for Finance, Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, Municipal Minister P. Narayana, Principal Secretary, Energy and CRDA Ajay Jain, chief managing director, ADC, Lakshmi Parthasarathy Bhaskar, Vijayawada, Guntur Municipal Commissioners G Veera Pandyan, S Naga Lakshmi, CRDA Additional Commissioners Dr A Mallikarjuna, V Rama Manohar Rao were present at the meeting.