On dedicated track, cyclists run into parked vehicles & hawkers

Nagpur: In what is being considered as a blemish on the Union Urban Affairs Ministry’s Rs1 crore Cycle4India Challenge award for Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Limited (NSSCDCL) for encouraging cycling, the 18km dedicated bicycle track in the city is either being used for parking of four-wheelers, two-wheelers or encroached upon by hawkers.
Cyclists are unhappy with the laurel and termed the dedicated bicycle track nothing but an eyewash.
NSSCDCL had spent Rs1 crore it received through corporate social responsibility funds to demarcate the track. As per Smart City mandate, the track is required to be kept free for bicycle riders round the clock. But this is not the case, as TOI found in a reality check done a day after the city got recognition among 11 cities for their work.
After covering the entire 18 km patch, TOI found that it is almost clear in Civil Lines area. However, on Amravati Road from Law College Square to Maharajbagh Square, it was either occupied by four-wheelers or encroached upon by hawkers.
NSSCDCL’s head of environment department (Smart city) Pranita Umredkar stated that the Smart City created the track as a pilot project on roads with shared traffic movements. “It is not permanent,” she said and added that the project was taken up to bring about behavioural change.
The NSSCDCL will also approach the traffic police to take action against illegally-parked vehicles on the track. Umredkar also appealed to citizens not to park their vehicles on the track.
Cycling enthusiast Aniruddha Raich, who has taken various initiatives to promote cycling culture in the city, said that the NSSCDCL doesn’t deserve the award. “NSSCDCL merely created an artificial bicycle track on the existing road meant for vehicular movement,” he said.
Raich said that now cyclists and private vehicle owners, especially those who have been coming to Civil Lines for morning walks since decades, are fighting for space demarcated on the track. “Morning walkers argue that they need space to park their vehicles. This means NSSCDCL merely marked a portion of the road for track rather than ensuring that it is exclusively used by cyclists,” he said.
Rohit Deshpande, a cycling buff, appreciated the NSSCDCL for creating a dedicated bicycle track. “It is a good idea for promoting green transport in Nagpur which is losing its green cover due to various development and infrastructure works,” he said.
He, however, feels that the authorities should consider increasing the track’s width. “The track is very narrow at several places,” he said.
Deshpande pointed out that dust accumulated at the road corner, particularly on the cycling track, makes cycling difficult and unsafe. He demanded that the NMC solid waste management department should daily sweep the track.
Some of the cyclists TOI spoke to said that uneven surfaces and potholes are also a cause for concern. The traffic police should regularly take action against parking of four-wheelers and hawkers on the track, they said.