Officials to paddle to office once in week in Bhubaneswar

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The city administration in the capital city of Odisha on Wednesday asked all employees to come to office on cycle or by walking once in a week to promote a better city environment, healthy lifestyle and sustainable urban habitat. The city administration comprising Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL), Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) asked the employees to come to office on cycle or by walking on every Friday.

Chief Executive Officer of BSCL, Prem Chandra Chaudhary, who also holds the responsibilities of BDA Vice-Chairman and BMC Commissioner, said, "The initiative is a step towards creating sustainable smart cities and contributing something for better city environment and indirectly putting some micro efforts towards better world environment and lessening the burden arising due to global warming and climate change."

Interestingly, as per the figures available from the Regional Transport Office (RTO), while the city's population as per the 2011 Census is around 10 lakh, there are more than 14 lakh vehicles in the city.

While vehicles outnumbering human population have become a major concern, the state government has already initiated work on developing a low-carbon mobility plan (LCMP) for the state capital.

The Housing and Urban Development Department and BDA, in co-operation with German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) are jointly working on the LCMP project for the city, said an official.

Bhubaneswar Cycling and Adventure Club secretary Ajay Nanda said, "Cycling culture can be developed with a 360-degree approach. I am very happy that BSCL, BDA and BMC are asking their employees to come to office on cycle every Friday.

Learning from this, other government organisations and corporate houses might also come forward and replicate the idea for a better and sustainable city."

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