BHUBANESWAR: After leaving them to rot on the sides of the streets for years, the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) seems to have suddenly opened its eyes to the usability of the ‘Mo Cycles’ and started making a bid to revive the service.
The agency has started lifting the cycles - whatever have been left in shabby conditions at the docking stations - to refurbish and ready them for use during the ensuing Durga Puja festival.
“The cycles are being taken to their maintenance site for repair and will be brought back to the docking stations before Puja. The plan is to allow citizens to use these cycles instead of cars or other modes of transport during the festival to reduce traffic congestion,” said a BSCL official.
The cycles introduced in the city under the much-hyped ‘Mo Cycle’ initiative during the Hockey World Cup in 2018 continued to rot in the open at the docking stations owing to lack of interest among public for the service as well as poor maintenance of them. Most of the time, the cycles could be found covered in thick layer of dust at docking stations. A large number of cycles have also vanished from many docking stations. BSCL sources said, of the 2,000 cycles, procured at a cost of Rs 25,000 each, only around 1,500 were in usable condition till January 2023.
“We are trying to salvage most of the remaining cycles and bring them to rideable condition. They will be put back at the docking stations for public use. We hope that people will use the cycles during Puja as it would make pandal hopping easier,” the officer said.