Resale on OLX of Sabuj Sathi bicycles gifted by chief minister Mamata Banerjee to school children

#sabujsathi #MamataBanerjee Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal had gifted cycles to all school children from Classes IX to XII under the Sabuj Sathi scheme but many of these cycles are being resold through OLX by the students themselves or their relatives.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 29 January 2016.

There appears to be nothing secret about these resales because the phone numbers are given along with photos of the brand new cycles. They have provided various reasons for selling off the bicycles they had received as gifts. One of them admitted that he already had cycles, another said his brother did not know how to cycle.
It seems the state government's plan was to give 40 lakh bicycles to students of Class IX-XII by 2016-17. The state has plans to distribute 25 lakh bicycles by the end of this financial year. However, till now, a little over 17 lakh bicycles have been distributed. The state government would be incurring expenditure of nearly 700 crore for the entire scheme. Out of this, about Rs 400 crore has already been released by the finance department.



Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Go in for eco-friendly travel in Bhubaneswar - embrace bicycle sharing

#bhubaneswar #cyclesharing #ecofriendly Bhubaneswar is leading the way to popularize eco-friendly mode of travel by introducing a new bicycle sharing system in line with China and European countries. The initiative is being taken by a group of youth in association with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL). They will start 'Parikrama', the cycle sharing system from January 23. Anyone in the city can avail of a bicycles by submitting identity proof and Rs 100, which is refundable.
The first six hours is free. Subsequently, a nominal amount will be charged for a one-hour extra drive. The system will begin with 30 cycles in six IOCL petrol pumps.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 18 January 2016.

Bicycling is not only cheap but is pollution free and helps to keep one fit. The initiative has been taken by Jay Odisha-a voluntary organization. The intention is to keep pollution in check before it reaches the level of metros like Delhi.
Cycle sharing system is quite popular and successful in China and Europe. It has been introduced in a few cities like Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai for last few years as initiatives of both the government and private entities. Such a system will not only reduce usage of private vehicles but will also create awareness about the environment and raise the level of mobility of the people.
The group Jay Odisha has begun an awareness campaign about the cycle sharing program in different schools, colleges, railway stations, public places apart from through radio and outdoor advertisements.

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Delhi plans to give subsidies for purchase of bicycles for clean environment

Encouraged by the response to its odd-even strategy on vehicles to curb pollution and have a clean environment, the government of Delhi is planning to give subsidy for purchase of bicycle. While seeking to promote cycling in the national capital, Delhi government has indicated that it will provide subsidy on purchase of cycles - the money collected as challans during the odd-even scheme's implementation period would be used to finance the scheme.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 9 January 2016.

Transport Minister Gopal Rai has indicated that once the car-rationing pilot plan is wrapped up, the government will constitute a committee to work out further modalities of the this proposed idea of bicycle subsidies.
He has also said that there are no cycle tracks on main roads in Delhi. However, the government appeals to people to use bicycles wherever possible -like in their colonies and mohallas where they can easily ride them and where the possibility of road accidents are also less.
Instead of using motor bikes and scooters, people could go in for using bicycles for their small household works like buying milk or local shopping.
It may be recalled that in order to cut down air pollution in the city, the Arvind Kejriwal-led government has implemented a 15-day-long odd-even scheme, which has come into force on January 1.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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