A rough ride for cyclists

Navigating through traffic on the Capital’s roads is a battle in itself. When carried out on a bicycle, it becomes all the more excruciating. In the wake of environmentalist Sunita Narain’s road accident, Delhi Police has launched a campaign to increase the visibility and safety of cyclists at night.

Joining hands with Cycling Federation of India and International Road Federation for this campaign, Delhi traffic police will be distributing reflective tapes for bicycles, free of cost, to minimise the possibility of accidents in vulnerable areas, owing to lack of visibility. Over the years, bicycle lanes have been introduced in the city, bike sharing system put in place and now this Delhi Police initiative. Metrolife spoke to those who take onto these roads, day in and day out to understand the ground realities.

A car hit Sunita Narain’s bicycle around Lodhi Garden on October 20 leaving her injured. This in turn ensued the debate about the safety of cyclists on Delhi roads. Augusto Castellanos from the Colombian Embassy, traverses the same area during the weekends when he sets out to bicycle around the City. “My friend’s cycle crashed into a car once.

Fortunately it never happened to me as I ride around the wide roads of Chanakyapuri, Lodhi gardens and Siri fort only on the weekends.” The expat adds, “One cannot complain about the traffic situation in Delhi, almost all the metro cities in the world are the same. But in Colombia, the cities close down their main avenues during the weekends so as to welcome skating boards, cycles and other such non-motorised vehicles and pedestrians on the roads.”

Marcus Santiago who rides his bicycle off to work for almost 22 km every day, uses all the cautions that a driver of a motorised two-wheeler takes. He thinks that Delhiites need a behavioural shift than anything else because they look down upon cycles as a lowly means of transport. Associate Professor at Centre for the Developing Society, Awadhendra Sharan cites the same concern, “Sunita’s accident generated a lot of dialogue around cycling but what we need to understand is that it is a common working man’s transport and many such accidents take place that are never even spoke about. The working class is the most vulnerable in these cases and if an urban cycling plan has to be introduced then it should be decided whom is it being built for- the working class or the people for whom cycling is a recreation as both these categories have different commuting maps in city.”

Oblivious to this debate, Rajkumar, a young scrap dealer in the City goes about doing his business, and says, “They had introduced some cycling lanes a few years back, but even autos and bikes use the same lanes when they are in a hurry. It doesn’t make a difference to us at all. I find my way through bazaars and inner lanes of colonies rather than travelling by the main roads because I have to travel almost 50 km every day.” Ironically, people like Rajkumar seem to have no qualms about the traffic situation as they consider it a part and parcel of their life.