HYDERABAD: As we celebrate World Bicycle Day, CE speaks to DV Manohar, Chairman of the Hyderabad Bicycling Club about garnering huge numbers of cyclists in the city and the club’s success in drawing attention of citizens
First celebrated on June 03, 2018, World Bicycle Day remains an important date in the age of growing concern for health and sustainability. With its first event in New Delhi with around 5,000 bicyclists, the largest bicycling event to date, the enthusiasm and turnout for cycling have only grown. Hyderabad itself serves as a core for promoting this day, as a large cycling event is being organised at the Pala Pitta Cycling Park by the Hyderabad Bicycling Club in association with the Telangana Forest Development Corporation. The event is expected to attract a turnout of 1000-1500 cyclists.
D V Manohar, Chairman of the Hyderabad Bicycling Club, Vice President of the World Cycling Alliance, and an ardent cyclist himself, tells us, “After the first bicycling event at Connaught Place, there was no going back. We motivate people to join, we provide cycles at a minimal price and we give them a lot of cycling tips. With all this, we are able to draw more and more people. Initially, they borrow our cycles and then in a few months they buy their own!” Adding, “We faced challenges in the initial years when we exhorted people to come and cycle, they would usually say ‘How do we cycle in this traffic’ or ‘I don’t have a bicycle’. To counter this, we thought let us make bicycles available first. So, we set up two bike stations, one at Necklace Road and the second one in Gachibowli.
At each station, there are 700 geared, state-of-the-art bicycles offered at a nominal rent. We started campaigns on social media and gave people the routes they can follow and after this, youngsters started coming. We have started a cycling revolution in Hyderabad and our club now has 20,000 members.” Hyderabad Bicycling Club is constantly in touch with K T Rama Rao, Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development for the creation of dedicated cycling tracks and identifying the areas to build them.
They also requested making a cycling track adjoining the ORR with state-of-the-art facilities to encourage people to cycle. The proposal was accepted and is being built with a solar roof spanning a total of 46 km (23 km each way). “With our Hyderabad Bicycling Club and World Cycling Alliance, we can promote international events to be conducted there,” concludes D V Manohar.