NCR CYCLISTS TO TAKE OUT RALLY ON SUNDAY TO DEMAND BETTER CYCLING INFRA

At least 50 groups of cyclists from Gurugram, Delhi, Noida. Faridabad and Ghaziabad, besides groups of runners, are planning to hit the streets on December 4 to demand better cycling infrastructure in the city, after a 50-year-old cyclist was killed in an accident on Mahipalpur flyover on Sunday.

Subhendu Chatterjee was riding his bicycle along the DelhiGurgaon Expressway on Sunday morning when he was hit from behind by a white BMW near Mahipalpur flyover on the carriageway towards Dhaula Kuan.

Cyclists said they all have decided to meet at a café on Teen Murti Marg in Delhi between 7:30-8am and then take out a rally to demand dedicated cycling tracks in Delhi-NCR for the safety of bicyclists. They are expecting at least 500 participants. When asked whether the rally would enter the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, where entry of cycles is banned, the cyclists said the route of the rally is yet to be decided. Cyclists in Delhi and Gurugram said the rally has been planned to draw the authorities’ attention towards the “dismal” state of cycling infrastructure in NCR. Despite several accidents resulting in the death of cyclists, no step had been taken to create safe cycling infrastructure.

Sarika Panda Bhatt, a road safety expert and a friend of Chatterjee, said, “Compared to developed countries, pedestrians and cyclists in India are the most vulnerable road users and face injuries and death due to imperfect and incompetent driving. All these incidents are unacceptable and preventable. What we need is forgiving infrastructure and better enforcement,” she said.

Manas Fuloria, CEO of Nagarro, said, “An IIT Delhi study suggests that pedestrian and cyclists make up 40% of all deaths on the road. Only by creating pedestrian and cyclist facilities will these lives be saved. The government or else the Supreme Court should make this mandatory.”