NEW DELHI: The Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi (DDC), in partnership with Raahgiri Foundation and WRI India, will be organising the ‘Raahgiri Day’ at CR Park this Sunday. This will be the third of seven Raahgiri days to be held in Delhi in a span of three months as part of the Kejriwal government’s Yuddh Pradushan Ke Viruddh campaign. The aim is to encourage citizens to take responsibility for reducing air pollution.
The event, being organised in Chittaranjan Park on December 12 from 7:30 am to 10:30 am, will be held in the presence of Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj and Kalkaji MLA Atishi. Earlier, Raahgiri Day was organised with much fanfare and saw enthusiastic local participation in Patparganj on November 14 and Najafgarh on November 28. A range of activities such as walking, running, cycling, skating, nukkad natak, street games, music band, painting, dancing, performing arts, yoga, aerobics, zumba, etc. will be organised.
Vice chairperson of DDC, Jasmine Shah, said: “The concept of Raahgiri Day holds promise of reducing our share of pollution when communities take its ownership. After Raahgiri Day was organised in East Delhi and outer Delhi last month, it has been gradually growing into a mass movement. The event creates the perfect opportunity for communities to come together and commit to making big and small changes to protect our environment.” Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj said such initiatives help in fostering a sense of “community and belongingness”.
Atishi said: “Let me ask you to imagine a road in Delhi. Chances are that you would have imagined one filled with cars and scooters and all sorts of vehicle traffic and of course the pollution from them. But what about roads for people to walk on, to cycle, to be able to go for runs? This is what we’re trying to achieve with Raahgiri in Kalkaji! I want people to reduce usage of private vehicles.”
The central idea of ‘Raahgiri Day’ is to allow people to experience a street without cars which can help them reimagine what our streets and our environment could be. Creating open streets and public spaces for such activities also promotes public health, well-being, fitness, togetherness and joy.