Bicycles back in troubled Kashmir

In an era where driving swanky sedans is cherished as a status symbol, restive Kashmir is on a path, where traditional bicycles are making a comeback on Srinagar streets, with more and more people rediscovering their love to pedal the two-wheelers.

While many of those riding bicycles attribute pedalling to “health reasons”, almost five months of unrest, which left roads deserted and vehicles damaged in incidents of violence for defying the separatists strike calls, seems to be the major cause of this new trend.

Mudasir Banday, a senior official of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) from uptown, purchased a new MTB bicycle this August when the strike and  stone throwing were at their peak. “I had no option to reach  my office, which is eight km away from my home. As most of the roads were blocked by the protesters and cars were being targeted, someone gave me the idea to purchase a bicycle and it proved a blessing for me,” he told DH.

Apart from saving expenditure on fuel, cycling improved his health. “Earlier my cholesterol level was higher and doctor had advised me to do exercise regularly. However, 16 km of cycling daily proved to be the best workout and I want to discard my car now,” he said.

During the peak of unrest in July and August, the protesters would allow bicycles to ply while other vehicles were not only pelted with stones, but also in some cases were burnt down. People in Kashmir, especially higher-rung employees, who had no option but to attend their duties, found bicycle as a new way to reach to their offices.

A senior officer of BSNL, who wished not to be named, said for two months, he would reach his office on a bicycle without anybody noticing him. “I would leave my home in casual dress riding a bicycle and nobody would notice me. On reaching the office, I used to change my dress and after work I would again slip back to casual clothes. It was a new experience for me, but it saved me from the hassles,” he said.

Narrating an experience when he was caught by stone pelters while riding a bicycle, he said, “I didn’t reveal my identity that I work for BSNL, otherwise the mob would have lynched me. I just told them that I am going to purchase medicines for my child and introduced myself as a shopkeeper.”

“The bicycle helped me to hide my identity. If I  were to be travelling  by my official vehicle, god knows what would have happened to me that day,” he added.

Earlier, this year in May a veteran medical professional in the Valley had ditched his car and hit the road on his bicycle. Dr Shafqat Khan, who is presently Health Officer of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), says he finds it unbearable to drive through roads packed with cars. “Though I have again started using car to travel from home to office due to harsh winter, come March I will again go back to the bicycle,” he told DH.

Asked what prompted him to choose bicycle as a new mode of transport, Khan said, “We need some de-stressing in our lives as we have become slaves to our daily routine. Also the congestion on roads due to cars is unbearable.” Appealing to the car owners to “respect pedestrians and cycle riders”, the  medical professional said, “Once more people shift to cycling, the pollution will come down and health will be good.”

Two senior officials in the Kashmir administration-- Senior Superintendent of Police Maqsood-Uz-Zaman and former SMC Commissioner GN Qasba-- are already known as bicycle-lovers, who don’t miss a chance to pedal. Come any cycling event in Kashmir, the duo is among the first to roll out their bikes. “Cycling is my love, and I look for moments to do it as it keeps me fit,” says Qasba, who lives near  Dal lake and loves to pedal on the Boulevard. 

Acknowledging that VIPs have security issues in cycling, SSP Security Zaman said: “But once it comes for passion you look for chances for a safe drive.”

“There’s a little bit of child in everyone of us,” he says. “And how can you ignore a bicycle which is eco-friendly,” he emphasises.

A dealer of high-end bicycles in uptown Jawahar Nagar, where shops would remain open despite strike, confirmed that they saw a jump of 200% in the sale of two-wheelers during the unrest period.

“I sold at least 200 bicycles of different brands during August and September despite the strike. People would approach me at my home and make the payments. Later I would deliver them the bicycles when separatists would announce relaxation in strike during evening hours,” he said.  The sales were 200% more than the previous year during the same months.

In 2013, a Facebook group ‘The Kashmir Bicycle Movement’, had pledged to reclaim streets of Kashmir for people, displace cars and restore pride in riding bicycles. However, the initiative didn’t pick up then as not many people in the Valley were ready to discard the cars for bicycles.

The Jammu and Kashmir government recently announced the launch of All Terrain Bike (ATB) programme for meritorious boys of lower economic strata on the pattern of Scooty Scheme for the girl students. Under the ATB scheme, the state government provides high-end cycles (All Terrain Bikes) to 10th standard boys in a government school.

Any low income group 10th standard student, who has to cover a distance of more than two km from his home to school and shall secure above 65% in his exams, will be eligible for a bicycle if he gives in writing that he shall continue to pursue his education.