Earth Day Cycle Rally

On the busy Ganeshkhind Road a loud slogan, Ek Doon Teen Char, Cycle Chalao Bar Bar sure succeeded in making heads, including a biker's, zooming at 60kmph, turn. To mark the Earth Day 2001, the city based environmental groups organised an Auto-Vehicle free day on April 19th to focus attention on pollution caused by unlimited growth in Auto-Vehicles.

The Rally with more than 150 participants, kicked off from the lawns of Pune University with the painted faces of Radicalz, a group of youngsters promoting the use of bicycles, dominating the scene. Enthusiastic Radicalz members grabbed all the attention on the roads and left the onlookers wondering about the pollution issues. Many of them stopped to shake hands and encourage the rally with "you are doing a good job - we support you." At some traffic junctions, people cheered and joined the Rally in unison "Petrol prices are rising... solution is cycling." and "Stop Pollution, Save Environment."

The Rally moved through the city's main arterial roads like FC Road, Appa Balwant Chowk, to finally conclude at the Laxmi Gardens on East Street. Here they witnessed a dazzling BMX 'Biking stunts' show put up by Nilesh Parikh and Ganesh Ekbote. Incidentally, both the talented biking enthusiasts, have been invited to the World BMX and Stunt Biking Championship to be held this year.

So what is the motivation behind the Rally? Says Sujit Patwardhan, of the Environmental action group Parisar, "We are living in times where citizens need to take charge of their lives and understand the basic issues. We cannot look up to politicians or the bureaucrats to solve all our problems. Auto-Vehicle Free Day and the Cycle Rally is the initiative we have taken to support the Earth Day celebrations. More than 5,000 NGOs and groups in over 200 countries around the globe are taking part in the Car Free Day
to focus attention to pollution caused by unlimited growth in auto vehicles. Pune has the honour of being the most polluted city in the country. So as a small beginning in our endeavour to tackle the issue of pollution we intend to observe 19th April of every year as Auto-Vehicle free day."
Hope more people are inspired to join hands in the effort to reduce pollution and Auto-Vehicular congestion in the city. More power to the Auto-Vehicle Free Day.

Text & Photographs: Harikrishna