Cycle for a clean and green JNU

"My other car is a cycle," "Go green in the campus", "Cycle to work", read some of the pamphlets tucked in front of bicycles of the 111 participants of the first-ever cycle rally organised at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday.

"My other car is a cycle," "Go green in the campus", "Cycle to work", read some of the pamphlets tucked in front of bicycles of the 111 participants of the first-ever cycle rally organised at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday.

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The participants that comprised students, staff members and their children cycled through 8 kilometres of the campus to spread awareness about the need to use

bicycles rather than cars or motorcycles to keep the campus green.

"This is an initiative to focus on the need to go green within the campus. We can all do our bit by using cycles as our mode of transport instead of cars or bikes," said Abhijit Karkun, who teaches French at the varsity and was one of the organizers of the event.

The university, which houses about 7,000 students in 16 hostels and 500 faculty members, is spread across 16 square kilometres.

"Except for one or two, most faculty members use cars to commute. So through this rally we are urging them to switch to a greener option like bicycles. Seeing them even students would be encouraged to use bicycles," added Karkun.

Though small in number, the enthusiasm of the students who took part in the rally was immense.

"It's fun to cycle within the campus. Besides keeping the campus green, it also helps us remain healthy and active," said Priyanka Chhablani, a first-year masters student who cycles regularly on the campus.