Intensify bicycle sale drive to protect environment: VP

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu today stressed the need for vigorous campaign for sale of bicycles.

Participating in 10th Urban Mobility India Conference and Exhibition-2017 at HICC here, the Vice-President said bicycles will play important role in protecting environment. “As Metro transport is a costly affair, there was urgent need to prevent pollution by adopting electric-powered buses for transportation”, he said, adding that there was parking problems too in the metro cities. He also disclosed that the national capital city has more than one crore vehicles resulting in frequent road accidents.

Some 1,000 representatives are attending the three-day conference. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali are among the dignitaries who attended the conference.

Speaking on the occasion, Mahmood Ali announced that the first phase of Hyderabad Metro train service between Nagole and Miyapur would be launched on November 28. He said the government was planning to develop metro rail system to cater to transport needs of the people in the twin cities that have about 10 million population. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to launch the Metro Rail as part of his Hyderabad visit to attend Global Entrepreneurship Conference.

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said there was a huge demand for urban transport service in the country with urbanisation entering the fast lane. Puri informed that with only 8km of metro network initially in Delhi in 2002, the country now has 380 km of metro network and another 500 km are under construction. He also said 250km Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) network was in operation and another 250km BRTS networks are under construction.

French Minister of  Transport and Ecology Ms.Elisabeth Borne in her recorded message to the UMI Conference said that the future of the cities of the developing and developed countries are interlinked and need to collaborate to address the climate change concerns.

French Ambassador to India Shri Alexander Ziegler said that sustainable urban development is the main agenda now before the nations of the world and his country is keen to further deepen cooperation with India.

            Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary to Government of India said the Urban Mobility Conference promotes exchange of views, information and knowledge of best practices being followed by different governments and cities across the globe in respect of sustainable urban transportation and development.

 (NSS)