The Hindu : New Delhi News : Inside delhi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 23, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Inside delhi

New initiative

In these fast-paced times when everyone seems to be driving in such tearing hurry, an NGO, Initiative for Transportation and Development Programmes, is striving to make a difference by encouraging Delhiites to slow down and enjoy the benefits of cycling rather than driving.

The NGO has also set up a forum called the Delhi Cycling Club which organised a 13-km cycling rally in Lutyens’ Delhi on Sunday to promote cycling as a healthy, zero-pollution, low-cost and sustainable mode of transportation. Comprising over 30 cycling enthusiasts from a cross-section of society including lawyers, Information Technology professionals, professors and lecturers, these citizens of Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida pedalled for over two hours covering the 13-km route. The cycling journey started from India Gate at 7-30 a.m. and covered several interesting landmarks of Lutyens’ Delhi such as Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House, North Block, South Block, Parliament Street and Connaught Place before culminating at India Gate at 9-30 a.m.

Bringing together cycling enthusiasts and health and environment-conscious citizens of the Capital, the Club has also been involved in talks with the Government demanding fast implementation of a better and safe cycling infrastructure in Delhi. Says Rajendra Verma of the Club: “We have been asking the Government to provide a separate lane for cyclists on Delhi’s roads as this would ensure the safety of cyclists on one hand and also ensure a smooth and speedy traffic flow to motorists on the other.”

Apart from these initiatives, the Club is engaged in planning regular traffic safety programmes for bicycle users in association with other NGOs and traffic police, especially among students and factory workers who are more vulnerable to accidents.

The Club also organises regular bike trips on various themes such as heritage biking, excursion trip, adventure trips and bike rallies. “The whole idea,” Mr. Verma adds, “is to encourage cycling for covering short distances. Due to bad lifestyles people nowadays do not find enough time to exercise so we are promoting cycling as a means of fitness that is environment-friendly at the same time.”

Manisha Jha

Metro nation

The Metro Rail stations in the Capital are transforming the lives of Delhiites in ways beyond the mere redress of traffic issues and travel travails. The gleaming interiors of most stations around Central Delhi harbour the perfect dust-free and temperature-controlled ambience for people with paradoxically opposing motives. Both languorous college students and bleary-eyed adults can be observed making themselves comfortable on benches, train-spotting from stairs, and even balancing themselves on railings while chatting up their companions.

The price of a ticket buys its purchaser not just the right to board any shuttle but also the right to loiter around the tube-station, watching shuttles swoosh in and out, gazing at ocean upon ocean of humanity disembark from within the sliding doors and watching it jostle out again into the anonymity of the throbbing metropolis.

The Delhi University route is a favourite with both young couples and the elderly, most of whom sneak out for a quick siesta-break from their jobs in and around Central Delhi. Though the desire for personal space is actualised in a contradictory fashion, the arena of the Metro station forms the common denominator, with sweet-nothings being punctuated by intermittent snores and an unspoken compromise being arrived between the young and the not-so-young, a novel pact in a city that is expanding as rapidly in numbers as its spaces are being accorded to a privileged few.

Kunal Diwan

Boon for students

Bobby Aloysius, one of India’s renowned athletes, has set up a website in an attempt to help Indian students aspiring to study in Britain. The comprehensive website is expected to help Indian students through the process of gaining admission to British universities, besides providing other information on admissions, scholarships, visas, accommodation, employment opportunities and course selection. The website -- www.ukstudyadvice.com -- is exclusively for Indian students.

The website also allows potential students to register with details on their subjects of interest so that they can be helped with a suitable course and suitable university. It also offers to help students “through all their needs till they arrive and join the course” and all of this completely free of cost.

This latest enterprise complements Bobby’s own recent transformation from an athlete to an international student and coaching expert. Bobby, who left competitive athletics two years ago, has done her masters in coaching science in England.

“My stint as a student in England convinced me of the need to offer a comprehensive, totally free and authentic guidance service to aspiring students from the subcontinent,” says the reigning Indian and South Asian champion in high jump.

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

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