Manish kumar
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: The state capital has its sights set on making it to the list of 100 smart cities in the country. But in its rush the city appears to have lost sight of one of the key requisites that make a city truly smart: cycling tracks.
According to regular users of bicycles from the city, safety has been a huge concern that has often prevented them from using the eco-friendly mode of transport always.
Although the city does have a dedicated cycling track that extends from Jayadev Vihar to Kalinga Hospital, this space is encroached upon in many places by vendors or by motorists jumping lanes.
Ratnakar Patel, who works as at a drug store in Chandrashekharpur, has been cycling for the past ten years. He was pleased when the city created the cycling lane on the road. But the pleasure was short-lived.
“Motorists and vendors are encroaching upon the lane and the purpose of the track has been defeated. And it is sad that this happens right under the nose of the civil administration and is a daily affair,” Patel said.
Government officials, however, claim they have been taking measures to curb the misuse of the tracks. They say that fines are being imposed on motorcyclists using the cycling tracks. “We collect a fine of Rs 500 from motorists riding on into the cycling track. But it is more important that the motorcyclists themselves respect the rights of cyclists,” Jatin Panda, ACP (Traffic), Bhubaneswar, said.
Urban planners and experts in the field, however, believe the cycling lane has been designed in an unscientific manner. Piyush Ranjan Rout, a city-based urban planner and regular cyclist, said: “Such tracks look good only on paper. They are not cycle-friendly. The track is elevated and this has made it unusable. The city can be made cycle-friendly if the authorities work towards making the track more usable and also ensure safety of riders by setting deterrents such as punishment for offenders.”
Even while complaints regarding unusability of cycling tracks persist, some in the city are also finding alternatives to promote cycling. Ajay Nanda, a member of the Bhubaneswar Cycling and Adventure Club and entrepreneur, is offering bicycles on hire to the public at his store in Sahid Nagar.
“Many places in India have dedicated cycling tracks. But the existing tracks in our city are not in good condition. The government is also not taking measures to support cycling. It should probably start a service offering cycles for hire to promote the habit,” Nanda said.
The state has in its smart city proposal to the Centre stated that a new cycling track is to be laid from Old Town to Nandankanan Zoological Park. Experts hope the government would consult cyclists and study the issue seriously before it begins working on that project.