It is high time that the city encouraged more people to use bicycles by developing the required infrastructure, including separate tracks along the roads, a convention organised by the Kozhikode District Consumer Education Forum has observed.
“The authorities concerned should try to ensure it when they plan new roads for the city,” said chairman of the All-Kerala Bicycling Promotion Council C.E. Chakkunny, who spoke on the occasion.
Mr. Chakkunni, who shared the experience of a recent visit by a group of council members, including him, to more than 10 countries, to study facilities for cycling in those countries, said that almost all European countries gave great importance to the use of bicycles as a means of transport.. “One wonders why the Kerala has not yet woken up to the possibilities of bicycling despite its polluted environment, increasingly obese population and high price of fuel,” said Mr. Chakkunny
Urging the government to seek the possibilities of introducing motorbike taxies and “shared-auto-rickshaws” to reduce the number of private vehicles and strengthen the public transport mechanism in the city, other council members, who also spoke on the occasion, said that the council was going ahead with its plans to “make a difference” by strongly campaigning for the reintroduction of bicycles to the roads here.
“We welcome Panchayats Minister M.K. Muneer’s recent announcement that any new panchayat road would be permitted only if it accommodated a separate bicycle track,” said M. K. Ayyappan.
V. K. Akbar, Superintendent of Police, Traffic, North Sone, who inaugurated the programme, highlighted the importance of using bicycle in the changed scenario. “Even if we consider any factor, be it economic, environmental or health, one will understand that bicycle is the need of our time,” said Mr. Akbar.
On occasion, the Calicut City Service Cooperative Bank announced that it would give an interest-free loan of Rs.5,000 each to 5,000 school students. The forum president P. I. Ajayan; secretary Padmanabhan Vengeri among others spoke.
