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epaper.dnaindia.com 4PUNE Pune, Tuesday, October 6, 2009SPEAK UP

Kiran Dahitule, Rahul Chandawarkar & Nisha Garud

team speak up

Cycle tracks are occupied by vendors, stalls and bus stops

Ihave been cycling to office all my life. Cy-clists face many problems while riding.

The city roads are not safe at all. The cycletracks are not in place most of the times.When they are, they are always occupied byvendors, stalls, bus stops and garbage bins.So we can never use the tracks. Also now-a-days, the horns of the vehicles are differentand you cannot make out which vehicle is

coming from behind.The buses move silently and honk only after they reach near

your cycle. It is dangerous to have such vehicles around whileriding. Cyclists should be taken into account when setting thetiming of the traffic signals. The traffic department shouldconsider the amount of time a cyclist takes to cross the roadbefore the signal turns red. Usually, the signal timing is so lessthat other vehicles zoom away even before the cyclist mountsonto his cycle and the signal turns red again. How can we ex-pect the schoolchildren to be safe? There has to be some dis-cipline on the roads to make life safe for cyclists.

—Prabhakar Mhaske, OFFICE ASSISTANT

Cyclists have become outcasts in the city

C ity traffic, the signals and the pedestri-ans; everyone treat cyclists as outcasts.

The motorists overtake without consideringthe presence of the cyclists. It is a problemespecially when we are at the crossroads. Ithink that there should be traffic cops atevery crossroad so as to maintain the smoothflow of traffic.

—Shashikant Paste, WAITER

Children can’t use cycles asparents fear about their safety

A lot needs to be done to create a safe cy-cling environment in the city. The time

is not good for safe cycling. Most of themishaps that take place pertain to the cy-clists. This is unfortunate and needs to bechanged. Cycle is the best mode of travel. Itis cheap, non-polluting and takes little spaceon the roads. It needs to be promoted at allthe levels and the first step that should be

taken is creation of a cycle friendly environment. School-children are eager to use cycles for travelling to school andcoaching classes. But due to unsafe traffic conditions parentsdo not encourage children to take up cycling.

The authorities who can solve this are the traffic control de-partment, the Pune Municipal Corporation and the corpora-tors. The police must ensure that vehicles follow the traffic rules.The municipal authorities and corporators need to ensure thatproper cycling tracks are built and maintained.

All obstructions on the existing cycling tracks and other en-croachments need to be removed. Cyclists need to be advised touse the tracks. The tracks, with proper entry and exit points,should be constructed along new roads. New roads are beingconstructed along the banks of the Mutha river but they do nothave cycling tracks. It will be great to cycle in this area if goodtracks are provided.

These roads will have many enthusiasts of all ages cyclingin the morning. It will be an excellent aerobic exercise and do-ing it alongside the riverbed will be welcomed by the cyclingcommunity. More people outreach programmes for cyclingawareness, safety on roads and safe cycling tips can be undertaken.

Private companies and corporates can be requested to adoptcycling tracks and maintain them as a part of their corporatesocial responsibility. If more people take up cycling, it will forcepolicy makers to create a safe cycling environment in the city.

—Ulhas Joshi, CYCLING ACTIVIST AND FOUNDER ZENOFCYCLING.COM

Bus drivers should follow traffic rules strictly

Drivers are reckless and irresponsible.They should be educated about roads

and traffic rules before they are allowed todrive buses.

They should be fined for indiscipline andthe licences of the regular defaulters shouldbe confiscated for two years.

Road maps should be provided to all andsurveillance cameras should be installed on

the bus routes. Regular health check-ups should be conductedat private clinics.

Clean and neat tracks, which are well-connected, should belaid. Schools should invite eminent personalities to talk aboutsafe cycling. Video clips should be shown. Parents should beinformed about safe cycling.

—Bakshish Talwar, EMINENT CYCLIST AND

OWNER OF SURENDAR CYCLE STORES

Cycle tracks help to prevent collision with other vehicles

Cycle tracks are lanes only for the cyclistswith a special surface to reduce the

chance of slippage due to the cycle’s nar-row tyres. Tracks help prevent head-on col-lision with vehicles. They also prevent thecyclist from being run over when speedy mo-torised vehicles try to overtake a slow mov-ing cyclist. The idea is to not let cycles andother vehicles get in each other’s way. The

lanes will allow the cyclist to ride at his own pace and not getirritated by vehicles, which want to overtake quickly. Thismovement will prevent cycles and vehicles from crashing intoeach other. Most common injuries among cyclists who areknocked down are contusions and lacerations on the skin andopen fractures of the Tibia and Fibula (leg bones) and of thewrist and shoulder when the cyclist falls on his outstretchedhand. Needless to say that those who wear an ISI-certified cycling helmet are better protected than those who don’t.

—Dr Abhijit Joshi, ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEON,

MEMBER PUNE CYCLE PRATISHTHAN

Misuse of cycle tracks shouldattract immediate penalties

Iwill not recommend children to cycle onthe streets of the city unless immediate

corrective actions are taken. The traffic sit-uation in Pune is unruly and people show lit-tle respect for traffic discipline. With the lackof infrastructure for safe cycling, mishapsare bound to happen, where innocent livesare compromised . We need to implement theagenda for action given by Pune Cycle

Pratishthan. The top priority will be to restore all cycle tracks,free them from all obstacles and create separate cycling tracks/ zones. Misuse of the tracks for anything else should lead toimmediate harsh penalties. If Pune police is understaffed, wecan have independent citizens who are committed to cyclistsas traffic wardens and empower them with booking the offenders.

—Milind Sathe, INTERNET BUSINESS CONSULTING,

DIRECTOR INDIAART GALLERY

No encroachments should take place on the tracks

Cyclists are not taken into considerationwhile constructing roads. They have to

ride on the main roads where there is heavytraffic and speedy vehicles. City cyclistsshould have separate cycle tracks where theycan ride tension free and safely. The authori-ties should ensure that no encroachmentstake place on the tracks and people who doso should be charged a hefty fine.

—Naman Shah, STUDENT & CYCLING ENTHUSIAST

In 1950s, every home had at least two to three cycles

Ihave been cycling for 60 years and musthave easily covered 5,00,000 km on my cy-

cle. At 70, I still cycle at least 25 km to 30 kmevery day.

In 1950s, the city was a different place.Every home had at least two to three cycles.Everybody rode a cycle to school, work or tothe playground. There were a few buses andcars. The roads used to be empty in the

afternoon.As schoolboys, we used to cycle to faraway places like the

Katraj Ghat on the weekends and our parents never used toworry. In the early 70s, I never thought twice before cycling 40km (both ways) every day from my Sadashiv Peth home to myfactory in Pimpri.

Sadly, times have changed. I still ride to places on my cycle,but have to be careful not to meet with an accident. Cycling isnot safe in the city. The authorities must restore the existingcycle tracks and also convert all roads near the rivers forcyclists. This will ensure safety and also encourage cycling.

—Dattatraya Mehendale, RETIRED TECHNICIAN AND

CYCLING ENTHUSIAST

The cyclist must wear a red cap for safety

Ihave been using cycle daily for 13 years.The risks faced by a cyclist are same as

that faced by a two-wheeler rider. The dan-ger involved in fatal accidents increase withthe increase in speed of the vehicles. So themain thrust should be on reducing the speed.The cyclist must ensure that he is visible bywearing a red cap. Separate cycle tracks arethe need of the day and will ensure safety in

the long run.—Dr Shirish Patwardhan, MD, GYNAECOLOGIST AND OBSTETRIC AND

MEMBER PUNE CYCLE PRATISHTHAN

Authorities must depute staff to monitor cycle tracks

Once upon a time Pune was known as thecycle city. But today, a few roads are pro-

vided with cycle tracks. They are not prop-erly demarcated and can be spotted only bythe display board, where the track begins.

The authorities should give importance tothe safety of the cyclists keeping in mind thepresent and the future traffic load on the cityroads.

The municipal and traffic authorities must depute staff tomonitor the cycle tracks. If they are being misused by localsor opportunists, serious action should be taken.

— Arun Balkrishna Dharme, BUSINESSMAN

Once famed as the cityof cyclists, Pune and its

administrators haverobbed the city of thisspirit and culture. The

critical injuries sufferedby a teen cyclist in a bus

accident recently haveonce again highlighted

the plight of the cyclist inPune. Speak Up explores

Wake Up to the woes of cyclists28.5oC 21.9

oC

A FEW SPELLS OF RAIN. FULL REPORT ON PAGE 2

cityweather

DNA Correspondent. PUNE

Atharva Sathe (15) is fighting for his life at a

city hospital after he was knocked down by a

speeding Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Ma-

hamandal Limited (PMPML) bus on Sunday af-

ternoon near Mayur Colony on Karve Road.

The Kothrud police arrested bus driver

k Gorakshanath Raut on charges of rash

According to the po-

d injuries

15-year-old hit by

PMPML bus critical

Naveeta Singh. MUMBAI

As talks between the Air Indi

management and pilots ma

headway, and amid threats th

airline will suspend operati

15 days, the prime minister’

(PMO) intervened on Monda

The PMO asked the civil

ministry for a quick resol

the crisis so that passenger

inconvenienced. The airli

suspend eight internation

in the evening when 32 AI

pilots called in sick in

with 20 of their counterp

dian -- AI’s short-distanc

AI spokesperson Jite

gava said the airline m

operations of all 310 flig

mestic, 90 internatio

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