India Cities Squeezing out Cyclists (more pollution)

i feel like this country will kill itself with all the problems they have and how they just make everything worse all for profit.


<This month, Kolkata banned cyclists in its main streets, though they are still allowed to ride in bylanes, despite the fact that the cycle-happy city is the only one in India where cycles are used more than cars. The government claimed that it would reduce congestion in the city’s jammed streets, while greens and cyclists protested.

But it’s not greens who stand to suffer most from India’s cycle-unfriendly streets. It is the poor. Most of India’s lower class cannot afford any other form of transport. Buses are sporadic, autos expensive and cars out of the question.

In the poor Indian state of Bihar, a government scheme to supply bicycles to girls has resulted in a 30 per cent increase in school attendance, and has revolutionised education in the state. When floods and other national calamities hit, it is often the cycle that keeps going when buses and trains stop.

Despite the fact that the Indian economy is often propped up — and propelled — by the cycle, many upper class Indians, safely holed up in imported cars, see cyclists as nuisances. So too do policemen, who often harass cyclists from poorer families.

End result: India’s cities are slowly squeezing out its poorest people, those who have no alternatives. Meanwhile, urban Indians are being slowly killed by vehicular pollution. Across the world, other cities are encouraging cycling, not throttling it to death. Cycles have been painted as a luxury that a growing India cannot afford. In reality, it’s exactly the reverse.>

http://gulfnews.com/news/world/india/india-cities-squeezing-out-cyclists-1.1246737