The city Corporation and the Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Limited have begun adding colourful cycling tracks to some of the major roads in the city, as part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of Independence.
The first of these colourful cycle tracks have now appeared on one side of the road along the Kowdiar junction-Vellayambalam stretch.
The cycling track is being planned as a loop from the Corporation main office to Vellyambalam to Kowdiar to Pattom to PMG and back to the Corporation office. The seven-kilometre stretch is a temporary arrangement as part of the celebrations. Cycling, marathon, and skating events will be organised in these tracks under the theme ‘Freedom from diseases and pollution’.
“We do have dedicated cycle tracks coming up as part of the Smart City project, but this is a temporary cycling track for the celebrations, with the permission of the Kerala Road Fund Board. Cycling tracks are proposed as part of the Smart Roads, the construction of which have now begun. Dedicated tracks will be provided in roads having enough space for these,” said a Smart City official.
The first of the Smart Roads in the capital under the Smart City project of the city Corporation is expected to be completed by February next year. In this particular phase of the project, consisting mainly of Corporation roads, an amount of ₹104 crore will be spent on a total of 9.87 kilometres of roads.
The works have already begun at Manaveeyam and inside the Fort area. Manaveeyam is one of the roads that is expected to have a dedicated cycling track. The increasing number of cycling enthusiasts have been pointing at the lack of dedicated cycling tracks in the city, that make riding a risky affair during peak hours.
As part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, which will be organised from October 1 to 4, one major area in each of the 100 wards in the city will be beautified. Conservation and celebration of traditional water bodies and heritage precincts is also part of the plan. The Integrated Command and Control Centre will be inaugurated. Drawing competitions themed around Gandhi Jayanthi and the freedom struggle, as well as selfie and vlogging competitions and group plantation drives will be organised as part of the celebrations.
