JOIN USRoads to glory or death traps?
On the morning of 10th March of 2011, Rajeshwari Mathapati woke up at 4.00 am, like any other day, to get ready for training at 4.50 am. Joined by fellow cyclists, the 15-year-old from Hunnur village in Jamkhandi, was on her way to National Highway-218 before the transition from darkness to light occurred.
But fate had other plans. A stretch of road that had prepared the youngster to stand on podiums at the Junior State and National competitions, turned out to be her death trap.
At around 7.30 am, on a bright summer morning, Rajeshwari - riding a borrowed cycle - lost her life when she came under an overspeeding truck near Jumnal cross on the Vijayapura-Hubli highway. And in an instance, the life of a budding cyclist chasing her dreams had come to an abrupt end.
Death has a way of touching human beings unlike any other. The avoidable tragedies, especially, have a tendency to haunt a bit longer. But, sometimes, even loss of lives fail to awaken people from their slumber of indifference.
Ask the cycling community of Bagalkot, Vijayapura and Gadag districts - known as the mecca of Karnataka cycling - who live this reality everyday as they continue decades-old battle for basic infrastructure.
“She was a bright kid who was introduced to cycling at the age of 10,” recalled Raghavendra Mathapati, Rajeshwari’s brother. “Our only regret is that we could not afford to buy her a cycle. Cycling is our passion, we pray no other family has to ever go through our pain,” he said with a pause to compose himself during a conversation.
It has been close to 12 years since the incident followed by two more deaths during practice on highways and yet nothing has changed in terms of providing a safe training environment for aspiring cyclists in these districts.
A promised outdoor velodrome in Vijayapura has been under construction since 2013. Requests to identify and grant a 5-10 km stretch of road without vehicular movement for cross country cyclists to practice on have fallen on deaf ears.
With no choice left, the trainees are forced to fine tune their skills on deadly routes. Groups of youngsters - from mostly small-time farming families - cling on to their dear lives while they dodge heavy-loaded trucks, buses, other speeding vehicles and patches of damaged roads with the hope of achieving something for a better future. Despite the apathy, the districts churn out international cyclists each year.
“Winter and rainy months are more dangerous because the visibility is low due to fog or wet grounds that make it slippery for riding,” explained Anita Nimbargi, former cyclist and a coach at the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) hostel in Bagalkot.
The 47-year-old has been training hundreds of cyclists on the Hubli-Vijayapura bypass for 23 years now, riding a Hero splendor motorbike to monitor 30-40 cyclists at a time during practice.
“The pace of each student differs as the seniors are faster and the young ones slower. I have to manage each one of them, keep an eye on their safety besides my own with vehicles zooming past us,” she added.
If loss of lives have made headlines, there are several accidents involving cyclists with broken bones, limbs and spines that have ended careers and left them crippled for life. Such mishaps remain unrecorded, unheard of and brushed aside. With no government subsidy or provision to financially support the treatment and rehabilitation, injured cyclists are left to fend for themselves to recover.
What then makes hundreds of aspirants each year enroll in cycling lessons despite the threat to life?
Most of the children belong to poor families who practice on outdated or borrowed cycles. Some parents go to the extent of selling a part of their farm land to buy a second-hand cycle. All this for a medal at the State or national level that will help them secure a job besides bringing pride and honour to the family.
“It is a gamble worth taking for many,” offered Anita who has been on the same journey and made a life out of the love for the sport.
A glimmer of hope
There appears to be a glimmer of hope for the deprived but determined cycling community from the districts of Vijayapura, Bagalkot and Gadag. At least for the future generations.
The work at the 333.33-meter velodrome being built in Bhutanal on the outskirts of Vijayapura has finally resumed after years of delay due to hold-up in releasing funds and technical glitches by an inexperienced contractor.
Early this year, the then District Commissioner of Vijayapura, P Sunilkumar, took note of the faulty construction and roped in an expert velodrome consultant, Pinaki Bysack, from Kolkata and handed over the responsibility to complete the facility. With the work into its final stages, the outdoor cycling arena - one among 14-15 velodromes in the country - is expected to be open by February 2023.
A project costing Rs 4 crore initially was later revised to Rs 7.5 crore in 2019 for the basic structure. However, Raju Biradar, president of the Karnataka Amateur Cycling Association (KASA) has made requests for more funds to add additional facilities such as a pavilion and practice arena so national competitions can be conducted.
“As for the cross country riders, I have asked some of the coaches, who train kids on highways, to meet me so we can figure out a solution for the problem. We will then finalise on providing a few kilometers long road dedicated only for cyclists to ensure their safety henceforth,” assured Sunilkumar who was transferred from Vijayapura to take over as the Bagalkot DC five months ago.
To add to this, Veeranna C Charantimath, MLA from Bagalkot, announced in a meeting held recently about allotting 12 acres of land under the Bagalkot Town Development Authority (BTDA) to construct a multi-sporting facility including cycling.
“We have to talk with the State government and coordinate with the Khelo India committee to mobilise funds before further process of planning and calling for contractors can begin. This too shall get rolling soon,” promised Sunilkumar.
Long awaited ray of hope for a sport which was introduced in the northern parts of Karnataka during king Ramachandrarao Patwardhan’s rule in the late 1800s but largely remained buried without a vision or desire to tap into its full potential.
Had the powers-that-be realised that they needn’t have looked too far to find champion athletes, the treasure trove of talent in our own backyard would not have suffered the consequences of negligence.