BMC signs MoU with Delhi firm to revive cycling

Bhubaneswar: In a bid to revive public bicycle sharing (PBS), which once failed miserably, by reinvigorating the concept of non-motorised transport (NMT), the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday signed an MoU with the Centre for Green Mobility (CGM) to evolve new ways to strengthen cycling infrastructure.BMC officials said sufficient groundwork will be done, including training and exposure visits of officials to places where cycling has been a success. Besides, road and track design will be completely revamped, and there will be involvement of institutions and different categories of people, making cycling accessible to them in the easiest way possible.“Consultants will be hired for designing streets prioritising NMT infrastructure, which was not there earlier. We will also hire a survey agency for traffic evaluation. There will be a dedicated branding design firm. A separate agency will oversee construction activities, ensuring that work is carried out according to approved plans,” said a BMC officer.CGM shall also assist BMC during pre-bid meetings, manage (monitor and supervise) their work, and coordinate with them regularly for any and every requirement under the project.Launched in 2017 as a priority NMT for the city, cycling faded into oblivion in 2 years. When Covid hit, the cycles lying unused were damaged further.Officials then felt the city’s topography (north-south sloping and terrain) was such that bicycle riding was not comfortable for all. Unless one is a regular cyclist with the required resilience, cycling from KIIT Square to Jayadev Vihar involved extreme slopes and steep, terrain-type roads, they said.