Bavdhan residents to observe no personal vehicle day on Sunday

PUNE: Inspired by the quietness and reduced pollution during the lockdown and with an aim to promote use of fewer private vehicles, the residents of Bavdhan have decided to observe ‘no vehicle Sunday’ on the first Sunday of every month.
While only 30 people had pledged participation on November 1, when the first ‘no vehicle Sunday’ was observed, the initiative has received more than double the number of supporters for December 6.The residents said they want to discourage use of private vehicles and encourage people to use public transport vehicles. However, people needing to use private vehicles for emergency purposes, such as for going to hospital, will not be discouraged, they said.
According to local resident Dushyant Bhatia, the goal is to encourage as many residents as possible to avoid use of private vehicles on the day. “During the lockdown, there was a lot of talk on how pollution levels had reduced. While we can’t go back to those levels, we can at least attempt to reduce it slightly. People must either walk, use bicycles or public transport for commute on the day. Right now, we have started with one Sunday a month, but we could make it a weekly affair if people support it,” he said.
Another resident, Deepa Prabhu, participated in the initiative last month though she was not in the city. “I was out of Pune, but made sure not to use my personal vehicle on November 1. Reducing dependence on motorised vehicles is a lifestyle change and this initiative is only the starting. We used the unlock period as an opportunity to begin convincing people to reduce use of private vehicles,” she said.
Rakhi Saraf, an architect and local resident, said, “We want to slowly encourage people to make this a habit. Pune was the city of bicycles but now it has become the city of vehicles. We want to dissuade people from using their two-wheelers or cars for every small thing. We want to promote cycling as a mode of transport once again. If every neighbourhood adopts this initiate, we will be able to see a change.”
Bhatia said that an awareness drive would be conducted on Sunday to spread the message. “Locals can pledge support to the initiative by registering with us on our Facebook page Bavdhancitizens. The goal is to open this initiative to all of Pune in the long run,” he added.