BMC to restart Nariman Point cycling track

Last year, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced a dedicated cycle track of 36 km along the Tansa pipeline under a project called ‘Green Wheels Along the Blue Lines’, at a cost of Rs 350 crore.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to restart a dedicated cycling track between the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) at Nariman Point to Girgaum Chowpatty.  The civic body has invited fresh tenders to appoint an agency that will maintain the track which will be operational on Saturdays and Sundays between 6 am and 11 am. The municipality’s ambitious project was shut in January 2018 facing several hurdles. As demands for its revival from cyclists and enthusiasts grew, the BMC has decided to restart it. “We will be paying the agency running the track Rs 3.5 lakh per event under this project.

The cycling track will be open for public on Saturdays and Sundays between 6 am and 11 am. We have invited organisers and interested sponsors to submit their offers to use the track soon. The agency will have to arrange for equipment, cycles and wardens / supervisors. We are awaiting responses now. The last day for submitting offers is April 21,” said Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner of A ward (Colaba, Churchgate, Fort).

Another civic official said, “By this month-end, BMC will appoint an agency to restart the track.” Last year, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had announced a dedicated cycle track of 36 km along the Tansa pipeline under a project called ‘Green Wheels Along the Blue Lines’, at a cost of Rs 350 crore. This year, the civic body has allocated Rs 100 crore for the project in its budget estimates.

Meanwhile, the Smart Commute Foundation, a cycling advocacy group, launched a cycling plan for Mumbai on Friday evenings. The foundation emphasised on road designs for all kinds of users, not only for automobiles. “The idea is not just to build cycling tracks and leave them. In that case these tracks will get defunct like the one in Bandra-Kurla-Complex (BKC). The track never stood a chance of working, due to issues of design flaws and connectivity,” said Firoza Suresh, founder of Smart Commute Foundation, adding that commuting on cycle will not only decongest roads but will also help reduce pollution.

Firoza’s organisation earlier assigned to conduct cycling programmes every Sunday when the south Mumbai track (earlier NCPA to Bandra Worli Sea Link) was started in November last year. However, within three months, the track was shut following a break in activities owing to the Mumbai marathon and the PM’s visit to Mumbai. “It is a good that the civic body is planning to restart the track once again,” added Firoza.