Agra: Cyclists and pedestrians in Agra have lamented the lack of road safety, making cycling through the city lanes as hazardous as mountain climbing.

Lakhs of farmers and daily wage workers still use bicycles to commute between their workplaces and living spaces. Each year hundreds become victims of road accidents, but “our city is being planned only for motorists and heavy vehicles, with no thought by the town planners to the convenience of foot marchers and cyclists,” says environmentalist Devashish Bhattacharya.

Cycling is an environmentally friendly mode of transportation that can help reduce air pollution and traffic congestion. It is also an excellent way to stay active and healthy.

An international scientist, now a social activist, Dr Anand Rai said “Let us remember the many benefits of cycling. Cycling can help improve our physical health by reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other chronic illnesses. It can also help improve our mental health by reducing stress and anxiety. Cycling is not only good for our health but also for the environment. By choosing to cycle instead of driving, we can help reduce air pollution and traffic congestion.’

Some years ago, the former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had spent Rs.133 crores on constructing a 207 km long cycle track from Etawah to Agra. Today, it lies in a state of shambles for want of care and patronage. Villagers are using the track to dry cow dung cakes or wash clothes, in stretches where it survives. The concrete-layered cycle track along the wilderness and ravines of Yamuna did not find many users or cycle enthusiasts.

Akhilesh Yadav wanted to promote cycling in a big way. "He was often seen cycling for rallies through villages", a villager Rakesh Kumar said. The cycle continues to remain his party's election symbol.

The cycle track, with colorful pillars meandering along shady trees, had to be bulldozed in Agra city to make way for a six-lane Fatehabad road, connecting Kheria Airport with the Taj Mahal.

Unfortunately, Akhilesh Yadav's ambitious 'green path' project costing Rs.134 crores failed to attract cyclists and looked set to prove a total waste of precious resources, even before its formal inauguration. Even though the project was timely and much needed in a city that has seen prolonged wars against environmental pollution with the direct intervention of the Supreme Court to make the Taj Mahal safe from air pollution, there were few takers, the students, and the tourists thought they could do with other means of transport, than risk their safety.

Students today are opting for fancy motorbikes, and the farmers prefer heavy-duty vehicles for multifarious uses. The colorful sports cycles are now only for the health-conscious middle-aged people who can be seen in parks or on lonely stretches, for health reasons. As a workhorse which the cycle once used to be our cities have moved towards high speed and efficient modes of transport, social activist Padmini Iyer said.