To commemorate World Bicycle Day, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is all set to organise a grand bicycle rally on June 3. The rally will commence from the PMC Main Building at 6:30am and pass through various prominent locations, including Modern Cafe, Jangali Maharaj Road, Alka Talkies Chowk, Tilak Road, Abhinav College, and Bajirao Road, before finally returning to the PMC Main Building. The event aims to promote cycling as a sustainable and healthy mode of transportation.
Umakant Diggikar, Deputy Engineer, Water Department, PMC, said, “The cycle rally has been organised by the PMC employee association for the citizens and PMC employees. We are also organising a cycle ride from Pune to Pandharpur for PMC employees on May 8. This year we have not kept any registration for the general public as we won’t be giving T-shirts and medals. But citizens can participate, and they have to bring their own bicycles. This rally has been conducted to create awareness about health and fitness among people. To attract more people of all ages to participate in the rally, we have kept the route short.”
The cycle rally is an exciting initiative to encourage citizens to embrace a healthy lifestyle by incorporating cycling into their daily routines. Residents can contribute to a more active and environmentally friendly community by participating in this event. Interested candidates can register online for free using the provided link. To participate in the rally, participants must be between 18 and 60 years old and must bring their bicycles.
Pune was once known as the 'City of Cycles,’ which gradually gave way to cars and two-wheelers. Today, Pune ranks among the cities with the highest density of vehicles, even higher than Mumbai and Delhi. Many efforts have been made to bring back the lost status of the city, including campaigns and rallies, but with growing urbanisation, the city never regained its status. PMC is all set to bring the cycling culture back to Pune, and in an attempt, the civic body is building a dedicated and uninterrupted cycle track and walkways under the Smart City project. PMC is coming up with plans to improve the cycling infrastructure in the city.
Besides, as part of the World Bicycle Day activities, NGO Parisar and CycleOn have organised a night bicycle ride on June 1 at 10 locations, including Sambhaji Garden, JM Road, RTO, Shaniwarwada, East Street, Laxmi Road, to name a few. Along with this, several events are planned.
Janani, communications strategist at Parisar, said, "Parisar has been advocating for sustainable mobility, and cycling is one of the many things we push for in the city. Since World Bicycle Day aims to encourage, promote, and advocate for cycling culture and good infrastructure to aid today, this was a good time to invite citizens to participate in these various activities curated for them."
