Cyclists from NCR to take out rally on Sunday to demand better cycling infra

At least 50 groups of cyclists from Gurugram, Delhi, Noida

At least 50 groups of cyclists from Gurugram, Delhi, Noida. Faridabad and Ghaziabad, besides groups of runners, are planning to hit the streets on December 4 to demand better cycling infrastructure in the city, after a 50-year-old cyclist was killed in an accident on Mahipalpur flyover on Sunday.

New Delhi , India - Nov. 10, 2022: Cyclists out amid early morning winter fog in Dwarka, in New Delhi , India, on Thursday, November 10, 2022. (Photo by Vipin Kumar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Subhendu Banerjee was riding his bicycle along the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway on Sunday morning when he was hit from behind by a white BMW , near Mahipalpur flyover on the carriageway towards Dhaula Kuan.

Bannerjee was a resident of Vatika City on Sohna Road and lived with his parents, wife and 21-year-old daughter. His friends remember him as an avid cyclist. He hailed from Kolkata and moved to Gurugram 15 years ago and initially started working with a private company. He later started his own garment manufacturing unit, said his friends, adding that he had cycled for over 70,000 kilometres.

Cyclists said they all have decided to meet at a café on Teen Murti Marg in Delhi between 7:30-8am and then take out a rally to demand dedicated cycling tracks in Delhi-NCR for the safety of bicyclists. They are expecting at least 500 participants. When asked whether the rally would enter the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, where entry of cycles is banned, the cyclists said the route of the rally is yet to be decided.

Cyclists in Delhi and Gurugram said the rally has been planned to draw the authorities’ attention towards the “dismal” state of cycling infrastructure in the National Capital Region (NCR). Despite several accidents resulting in the death of cyclists, no step had been taken to create safe cycling infrastructure.

Himanshu Khanna, a Gurugram resident and cyclist, and a friend of Bannerjee, said, “They have planned a memorial cycling rally on Sunday and cyclists and runners will join the rally. Such deaths are taking place over and over again, and the drivers get away with little punishment. We have created a Google form where people can share details of runners/cycling groups and share details of from where they will join the rally,” he said.

Sarika Panda Bhatt, a road safety expert and a friend of Bannerjee, said, “Compared to developed countries, pedestrians and cyclists in India are the most vulnerable road users and face injuries and death due to imperfect and incompetent driving. All these incidents are unacceptable and preventable. What we need is forgiving infrastructure and better enforcement,” she said.

Manas Fuloria, CEO of Nagarro, said, “Another Sunday and another rally for road safety. An IIT Delhi study suggests that pedestrian and cyclists make up 40% of all deaths on the road. Only by creating pedestrian and cyclist facilities on each and every road throughout the country will these lives be saved. The government or else the Supreme Court should make this mandatory.”

Panda said that the National Urban Transport policy of the central government says cities should focus on moving people, not vehicles. “The mobility profile of Gurugram, Delhi, or any other city in India shows the share of pedestrians and cyclists is four to five times the share of four-wheeler traffic. Banning cycling is not the answer; we should encourage more people to cycle. The most effective way to do that would be to make cycling-friendly cities. There are hundreds of workers who cycle to work in Udyog Vihar from Mahipalpur and Rajokri. They can only afford to come by cycle,” she said.