It was a clear October morning. The wind was still and the
traffic on the road was intermittent. However there were a number of cyclists
cycling towards the Dona Paula Circle. There were a few people looking on with
some curiosity as a few cyclists we filling air in their tires and others were
making last-minute adjustments. This was after all the starting point of the
Cycle4Change, an initiative to give the residents of Panjim and its surrounding
areas a safe zone to cycle. The path was marked with cones over a distance of
9.5 kms between Dona Paula circle up to Ribandar Merces junction. For many of the cyclists it was a welcome development. Cyclists
came from areas a far as Mapusa to be part of the inaugural run. There
were families cycling as well as individuals. The youngest cyclist was a mere
five years old. Vishal Mandrekar has been cycling for a year and does it to keep
fit and ensures he is able to play cricket. Employed with the fire department
he felt it was a very good initiative and hoped it would motivate others to
take up cycling. His colleague Satyawan Gawas exercises everyday and cycling is
part of his routine. Dipti Chodankar, who also cycles daily from
Panjim to Ribandar and felt the separate path was a very good initiative
because cycling on the roads of Goa was not always safe. She said, “A lot of
cars drive at speed and it is unsafe to cycle in the cities. I have been
cycling for six months and I certainly enjoy it but these are some of the
issues we face”. Abir cycles every day and said he does it to lose weight
and to also explore parts of Goa he would not usually see during his movements
during the day whilst working. He said the cycles lanes were much needed
because the way drove their cars were at times quite scary. The presence of
potholes did not help matters and this initiative was very helpful. Shashant Bhosale cycled all the way from Porvorim to be part of
the initiative. Said he was just continuing from his cycling in Mumbai. He said
“It is good to see efforts being made to encourage cycling in the state. I will
say it is safer to cycle in Goa than in Mumbai. I have observed here very
few cyclists wear helmets whereas in Mumbai it is compulsory. Most of the
accident here involving cyclists takes place because they are not visible or
have not switched on their lights. It is very risky, I hope with this
initiative people will learn the importance of right clothing, the importance
of lights. I have been cycling for ten years and it has been great fun”. Sharmilee Bhosale has been cycling for six months. Now
working in Pune, she came over to Goa to be with her parents during the
lockdown and took up cycling. She said “I am enjoying it and my father
who is in his sixties cycles much more than us. My brother and my father are my
motivators and I took up cycling”. Amit Wagle welcomed this initiative wholeheartedly. He said
“There are no tracks in Goa and that is a problem. We have to promote cycling,
it will make people healthier. My brother is here from Mumbai and he has picked
up a new cycle and he is coming along with us”. He added that since no one
cares about cyclists in this country, it was important that an initiative like
this was planned. Swayandipta Pal Chaudhuri, MD and CEO Imagine Panaji Smart City
Development Ltdfelt the response was very encouraging with many cyclists coming
in after the journey commenced through the city. He said “Cycle4Change is a
people-driven movement with many people coming together for it. We are talking
about equitable streets, safe streets and the only way to do it is to ensure it
is for everybody. This three km stretch on the Ribandar roadway had the entire
administration coming together and they blocked it to ensure it was only for
cyclists”. The idea is to start with a Sunday (after today’s exercise on a
public holiday) and gauge the response and then we would like to get into the
other days as well. He admitted infrastructure was a problem and that was
something they would like to build up on and once the Sunday’s became successful,
people would request they would need more infrastructure for cycling. One can only hope that day is not too far away.
