BELAGAVI: With the sole motto of making the eco-friendly campus, the Belagavi based Jain college of engineering has come up with an initiative 'Fit India Movement' to encourage students to quit bikes,
cars and ride a bicycle for a better life and future.
The concept aims to reduce air pollution, keep the students fit and energize, save fuel and save time by giving rewards for cycle use.
About 2600 students are learning five under-graduate, four post-graduate courses and polytechnic courses at Jain college of engineering situated at Macche in Belagavi. There are about 200 teaching and non-teaching faculties working in this college. Although there are six dedicated college buses to carry and drop the students, hundreds of reaches the college by bikes and cars.
Jain heritage school of JGI group had successfully organized a Cyclothon in Belagavi recently. Inspired by the success of the event, the Jain college of engineering has come up to give rewards to students for using cycles regularly to attend the college.
The college will be giving Rs 500 incentives to each student attending the college by using a bicycle and he or she will be given Rs 500 incentives more when leaving college after completion of course. The condition is that they have to hand over the cycle to juniors so that the chain never gets broke and the campaign is promoted.
Colonel Melville D'Souza, Administrator of the college who is implementing this initiative on the campus has created a WhatsApp group titled 'JCE Cyclists' where he gives instructions to the members to encourage others for use of the cycle.
'There are multiple benefits to the students for adapting cycling such as they can save time, money on fuel, save the environment, stay fit and healthy and stay safe. I am also encouraging students to form cyclist clubs to carry over fitness activities' he said.
Akshay Sutar, a 5th-semester E&C branch student who comes by bicycle said 'Although my house is just 2km far from college, I had to wait for more than 45 minutes to get Bus to reach college. Now I come by
cycle to college. Some of my friends trolled me for coming by cycle to college. Initially, I felt embarrassed but as the college, itself is promoting cycling, I am feeling proud and many of my friends who come by bike are thinking to get cycles to come college' he said.
Principal Vishvanath KG said 'We are receiving a good response from the students as about 20 students have started coming by bicycles. In the primary stage, We are encouraging the students are staying are in
a 4 to 5 km radius, especially to the students staying hostel at 3km distance.
A dedicated parking area has been provided for cycle parking as well. Some of our faculty to coming by bicycles so that the students are motivated. We are thinking of giving credit scores to the students who come to college by bicycles' he said.