THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Three years back, Sunil Jain, the former Bicycle Mayor of Surat in Gujarat who recently lost his life to Covid, had launched a mass campaign called ‘We Too’ to create awareness among the public about respecting the rights of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads. This year too, bicycle mayors of various cities in the country will come together for the campaign in memory of Sunil on April 22, which is observed as Earth Day world over.
‘We Too’ was launched by Sunil after his friend Vineet Malpani, a software engineer, was knocked down by a car during morning walk. The pan-India campaign is being initiated by BYCS India Foundation, a nonpartisan organisation.
“This is the second year we are conducting the mass campaign. Many pedestrian and cyclists’ deaths have been reported in the city over the years. Apart from dedicated cycle tracks, more awareness is needed to make the roads safe,” said Prakash P Gopinath, bicycle mayor of Thiruvananthapuram.
Cyclists from the capital city will join the campaign. “We have planned multiple rides on the day, both in groups and individually. Various activities related to cycling such as rallies, discussions about road safety and respect for cyclists with the public will be organised. Activities are also planned with the help of the Motor Vehicles Department to spread awareness. So far, 40 cyclists have registered for the campaign,” said Prakash.
Dr Bhairavi Joshi, CEO and director of BYCS India Foundation, said, “Like last time, the bicycle mayors will be organising the campaign in their respective cities. We aim to create awareness and initiate behavioural change in other motorists”.
A team led by Prakash is moulding a generation of cyclists, particularly women to promote green commuting. This is part of Cochin Corporation’s ‘Cycle with Kochi’ project, under which Kudumbashree is training women to ride. “More than 160 women in Kochi have already learnt cycling and we will be training more women in the coming days,” said Prakash.