Rajkot: As the world celebrates World Bicycle Day on June 3, Rajkot has a green success story to showcase. Over the past seven years, the Rajkot Municipal Corporation’s bicycle promotion scheme has encouraged more than 15,000 residents to choose pedal power, disbursing over Rs 1.5 crore in subsidies — Rs 1,000 per bicycle purchase — to promote cleaner, healthier and sustainable commuting.To encourage green mobility and reduce pollution, the civic body has been offering a subsidy of Rs 1,000 to residents buying new bicycles under its bicycle promotion initiative launched in the 2019-20 financial year. Over the last seven years, till 2025-26, the corporation has disbursed over Rs 1.5 crore to 15,000 beneficiaries.When the scheme was introduced in 2019, only one member per family was eligible for the subsidy. However, the municipal corporation later revised the policy, extending the Rs 1,000 incentive to other members of the same family opting for bicycles under the green transport initiative.Speaking to TOI, Rajkot mayor Nehal Shukla said the civic body introduced the subsidy for bicycles bought after July 15, 2019, as part of its efforts to curb urban pollution and encourage sustainable commuting among citizens.“By the financial year 2025-26, nearly Rs 1.5 crore has been transferred to beneficiaries who bought new bicycles. In the future too, the municipal corporation will undertake innovative initiatives to encourage greater use of bicycles and strengthen green transportation in the city,” the mayor said.Rajkot’s push for cycling is not new. In 2020, senior officials and employees of the municipal corporation adopted a ‘Cycle-to-Office’ initiative, under which staff members were encouraged to commute to work by bicycle every Friday. The initiative was promoted by then municipal commissioner Udit Agarwal, who had appealed to nearly 8,000 civic employees to use bicycles at least once a week.The move, officials had said, aimed at reducing fuel consumption, lowering pollution and promoting healthier lifestyles among employees.Cycle promotion faces infrastructure challengesWhile the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) promotes cycling through its subsidy on bicycle purchases, cyclists say infrastructure on the ground tells a different story. The civic body had developed an 11km model stretch along the 150 Feet Ring Road with dedicated footpaths and cycle tracks on both sides of the BRTS corridor. However, cyclists say the facilities are poorly maintained and largely unusable.According to them, large sections of the cycle tracks and footpaths have been encroached upon by hawkers and autorickshaw parking, leaving little or no space for cyclists. With dedicated lanes blocked, many are forced to ride amid fast-moving traffic, turning cycling into a risky affair on one of Rajkot’s busiest roads.
