Bicycles dumped at NIT-T campus 'graveyard' gets restored to life

TIRUCHY:  Every person who enters the NIT-Tiruchy campus is likely to stumble upon the sight of bicycles dumped at different spots on the 800-acre campus. It has become a sort of practice for the students to dump the bicycles, which they once used to move around, within the campus itself before the end of course.

Over the years, the bicycles started piling up, resembling a metal heap, and the spots earned the infamous title of "cycle graveyard." Well aware of the environmental implications the heaps posed, several students came up with the idea of refurbishing the bicycles and, thereby, propping them up for reuse.

In 2013, inspired by a project executed in Australia, a student named Srinivas Reddy, along with his friends, succeeded in giving the pedals and steers a new life. 'Task Force' was the name of the forum through which they undertook repair works.

Fast forward to 2022, V Vidhyasagar, the president of the forum from 2021 to 2022, said they used to receive price quotations from different repair shops within the campus and they would, in turn, choose the most feasible out of it. Based on the incurred price, the repaired bicycles are later given to students, after which the repair shops are paid.

"Since 2014, around 2,000 cycles were successfully repaired and rented out," Vidhyasagar said. However, with the lockdowns suspending the work, cycles started forming mini-hills once again on the campus, he added. At present, the forum is once again charged with the responsibility of repairing the bicycles. Students started leaving the bikes on the campus due to various reasons, sources said.

Due to prolonged exposure to sun or extreme weather, the bicycles started getting rusted or damaged. G Sai Ganesh, current president of the forum, said, "We plan to rent out the cycles to students on deposit basis. Just like in Smart Bikes, QR codes will be pasted on the bicycles to make the renting process easier." V Karthick, professor and adviser to the forum, said, "Around Rs 900 would be collected from the students as deposit before renting the bicycles.

The sum would used for social causes. Once the seniors leave the campus, it will be handed over to the juniors and the wheels would just keep turning." S Ajay Bharadwaj, an alumnus, said he left his bicycle on the campus due to the pandemic rush. "Returning to the campus, I found out it lying on the one of the heaps. I got the bicycle from one of my senior in 2017 and I hope it was passed over to a junior." One of the cycle mechanic said around 50 cycles are being repaired on an everyday basis.