Rajesh Khanna in one of his famous acts had once sung Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana Yahaan Kal Kya ho Kisne Jaana. Perhaps it also very aptly sums up how winds of change follow with a change of guard as a new government takes over.
What Akhilesh Yadav as CM thought was a great idea and a game changer, his rival Yogi Adityanath considers a complete waste. There are reports that the cycle tracks made under the SP regime are being demolished across the city of Lucknow.
Promoting use of cycles, former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had then said Uttar Pradesh would be known for cycle tracks and very soon Lucknow will be branded as cycling city.
Attending a Road Safety Mahakumbh, scholars, media veterans and social workers said that one will have to rise above real politik in order to think of the greater good of society. They said that if cycling tracks can help decongest roads and further the cause of road safety, why not give it a try instead of outdoing what was done by the previous regime.
Among the august speakers present at the event were eminent journalists Dr Mukesh Kumar, Dr Dinesh C Sharma Managing Editor of the India Science Wire, Director, Amity School of Communication, Lucknow Dr Sanjay Mohan Johri, Assistant Director General MoHFW, Dr Tanu Jain, WHO Official, Dr Gaurav Gupta, Dipak Dash of TOI, New Delhi and social worker Ashutosh Soti.
Lucknow courtesy the previous government got cycle-tracks running parallel to main roads. Interestingly for the BJP the SP’s cycling idea is to push Samajwad a little further so as to ensure it percolates in the mind of the average junta.
The plan to demolish cycling tracks was announced by UP’s urban development minister Suresh Khanna, who wants roads to be widened to ease traffic. However, this decision hasn’t gone down too well with cyclists. They say demolishing the tracks will make it inconvenient for them to ride on congested city roads.
A lot of students and cyclists commute on the track which is safe for them to ride.
Lot of Army personnel and school kids cycle in the Cantt area and around La Martiniere College. The tracks built in Cantt, Hazratganj, Gomti Nagar and in front of the Governor House are very well planned say locals to the media in the city.
The debate on the issue is constantly heating up at a point where the outer limits of Lucknow have been expanding with rise in population.
Expansion though has not been complimented by creation of better and adequate infrastructure like roads, flyovers and underpasses. As per a news report lack of planning, callous approach and myopic vision development has nosedived.
Lucknow suffers from frequent traffic congestions causing trouble to pedestrians, especially women and schoolchildren.
Roads like Motilal Nehru Marg, Ashok Marg, Faizabad Road, Kursi Road and others also lack proper footpaths.
Most places, spaces left for pedestrians have been encroached by illegal parking which lead to traffic chaos.
Number of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists who lose their lives may be greater than anyone realizes. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health survey studied a population of 4.7 million, they came up with a breakdown: 21 percent were pedestrian deaths and 49 percent were motorbike riders.
Hence the man on the two wheelers or the footpath are increasingly prone to accidents, a risk of which needs to be cut down.
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