VISAKHAPATNAM: Among the 107 cities registered for the Cycles4Change Challenge of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Kakinada has emerged as one of top 25 Cycling Pioneers in the country. Kakinada is the only city from Andhra Pradesh to have made it to the list. While Warangal in Telangana got 11th place in the top 11 awardees under India’s Cycling Pioneers, Hyderabad and Kakinada are the two cities from the Telugu States, which found a place in the Other Cycling Pioneers category of Cycles4Change Challenge initiative of Smart Cities Mission Highlighting the achievement of Kakinada to enter the top 25, the MoHUA said Kakinada identified a Cycling Champion for every ward in the city to build widespread support for cycling.
“Over 1,000 citizens participated in 12 cycle rallies across the city, leading up to the launch of the city’s first pop-up cycle lane. The champions also ensured surveys and consultations organised by the city saw strong citizen participation from diverse groups, including women, children, and persons with disabilities,’’ it said.
The top 25 cities will advance to the next stage where they will embed the vision of a cycling-friendly city by adopting policies, setting up dedicated departments and creating city-wide plans. Speaking to TNIE, Shrivan Wattamwar, Infrastructure Planner of Kakinada Smart City Corporation Ltd, said that the works for Stage-2 are already going on. “A 2-3 km road only for cycles is being constructed in the city centre,’’ he said. He also stated that the currently available track is being used by several people from all age groups every day.
Participating in the challenge, Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar, Commissioner of KMC and CEO and Managing Director of Kakinada Smart City Corporation Ltd, explained that a new cycle pop-up track was built for the first time in the city. Along with cycling track, street lights, underground sewage system and footpaths are also being constructed, he said.
Through an online event held Wednesday, Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MoHUA, announced the top 11 winning cities. Shrivan explained that the top 11 cities all have Public Bicycle System , which is not feasible in Kakinada. PBS is a system where the government or a private party sets up its cycles across the city which the public can access by downloading an app. The public will be renting the cycles for a certain period or distance.