Valleys cyclists find the move encouraging
Abrar A. Mattoo
SRINAGAR, March 28: In order to promote cycling for a sustainable future, Free Air Facility for bicycles has been set-up at H.P petrol pump, M.A Road Srinagar. The retail free air unit is one of the first units of its kind in J&K.
“The unit would help the citizens of the city to inculcate healthy lifestyle,” Ghulam Nabi Sheikh, manager chinar motors/ H.P petrol pump, M. A road Srinagar told Kashmir Despatch. “It would also promote the fact that cycling is a healthy practice.”
“It’s a small step to adopt small changes in our day-to-day routines and move towards a healthier and greener way of life,” Marketting Manager Hindustan Petroleum informed Kashmir Despatch on a pragmatic note.
Over the years, Kashmir has produced immensely talented cyclists who have conquered the world of athletics and brought laurels to Kashmir. A recent example is, Adil Teli, a Kashmiri cyclist who set-off on 19th March this year with an aim to break the Guinness Book of World Record for cycling from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.
“Society, in general, has been discouring of those youth who wish to take cycling as a profession. Personally, I find the move encouraging. Maybe it’d beat some sense in us,” Nadeem Mattoo, an aspiring cyclist observed while talking to the KashmirDespatch.
Nadeem has the record of cycling a 100 kilometer in a single day.
The free air unit at M.A road is set-up on the popular bicycle route that leads onto the shoreline of the world-famous Dal Lake. Therefore, the unit would be ideal for bicycle races and cyclists facing issues. Additionally, the unit would help promote cycling as a healthy practice that can heal the valley’s fragile eco-system.
“The step is one of the many actions needed towards awareness regarding the healthy and greener way of life because, in Kashmir, we are not much conscious about the issue of global warming,” added Dr. Rouf-Ur-Rafiq, a noted environmentalist.
“Our city is one of the most polluted cities in the world, and we need to wake up to the fact that if we desire to keep Srinagar clean, cycling is the best alternative,” the environmentalist added.
According to the figures for 2016, 14 of the world’s most polluted cities were found to be in India — among them, Srinagar ranked tenth with 113 micrograms per cubic meter of PM 2.5 concentration. The WHO database had measured the levels of fine particulate matter from more than 4,300 cities in 108 countries. It has been seven years since, and it’s only safe to assume that the condition has deteriorated.
“There was a time when thousands of bicycles would crowd the roads of Srinagar, and to ride a cycle was taken in the same spirit as we think of riding cars today. The city was cleaner back then, the roads were less noisy and people did not have to give away half their earning to the thugs at petrol pumps. We can only pray for those days to return,” Haji Abdul Aziz, a seventy-year-old shared his information with Kashmir Despatch, while reminiscing the days when he used to go to his office on a bicycle.
