Bhubaneswar, October 2: On the second day of the celebration of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) on the auspicious birth centenary of two leading luminaries of Indian national leadership – Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, organized an all-women cyclathon to promote healthy lifestyle and creating awareness on breast cancer, with partnering civil society organization, KRIAA Foundation and Commissionerate of Police.
As the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is being celebrated to commemorate the 75th Independence Day of India, the cyclathon started at 7.05 AM from Sishu Bhawan Square and culminated there at 7.50 AM by passing through Janpath, Exhibition Ground Road, Sachivalaya Marg and Udhayn Marg. The participants are from Rama Devi Women’s University and Kamala Nehru Women’s College, respectively.
The event was presided by Acharya Harihar Post-Graduate Institute of Cancer, Cuttack Director Professor Dr Lalatendu Sadangi. AIIMS Bhubaneswar Surgical Oncology HoD Dr Madhabananda Kar joined as the guest of honour. Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited General Manager Kamaljit Das and founder of KRIAA Foundation Lili Jenamani also spoke on the occasion.
Adyasha Nayak, a student of Kamala Nehru Women’s College, who participated in the cyclathon today defying the early morning sun today, said, “I am very happy to participate in the event in which we all participants used the Mo Cycle and enjoyed the ride. With the city providing a beautiful atmosphere to the cyclists, we all enjoyed the event.’’
Muzda Taliha of Rama Devi Women’s University said, “the event was well-organised to provide a unique platform and the awareness on a prominent health issue of women. We also got an opportunity to check the cycling infrastructure of the city and found that it is very much citizen friendly.’’
It can be mentioned here that as part of the citizen-centric planning of the Smart City Proposal, Bhubaneswar has developed a good city-wide facility for cycles and pedestrian ways so that the emissions are less and citizens enjoying a healthy environment to breath in fresh air with less pollutants and particulate matters in the neighborhood air. The city has relied on its non-motorised transport (NMT) planning to make it more livable.
In July this year the Temple City bagged India Cycles4Change Challenge Stage-1 Award as it was adjudged among the top 11 Cycling Pioneers of the nation. All the 11 cities will receive an award of Rs 1 crore each to scaleup their cycling events in their respective cities.
Managing Director and CEO of Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited Sri Sanjay Kumar Singh said, “we are committed to provide better and healthy living conditions and facilities for citizens so that the clean and green tag of Bhubaneswar would be seen translated to reality in every zone and sub zones to make it a wonderful place to live in.’’
This year Smart City Bhubaneswar had come as the fourth ranked city among the top 10 Livable Capital Cities in India. Interestingly, the Temple City had topped in the Citizen Perception Survey with the highest score of 94.8 out of 100 as per the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE’s) Ease of Living Index Report, 2020.
A blood donation camp was also organized on the grand occasion by different volunteers at Kamala Nehru Women’s College. Several corporate and business houses were partners in this programme.
Tomorrow the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited will organize a special heritage walk in the Old Town area at 7.05 AM starting from Mukteswar Temple, which is known for its unique arch and beautiful carvings on the temple wall projecting the Kalingan temple architecture.
