To keep campus green,PU promotes cycling

Dean Students’ Welfare A S Ahluwalia said,“I had this concept in mind for a long time but now got an opportunity to give it a shape. Discussions over the proposal have been done with the Vice Chancellor along with other senior officials and subsequently received a positive response from them.”

For a self-sustaining township spread over an area of 550 acres in Sectors 14 and 25,with 75 Departments and 15 Centres,16 hostels and residential areas scattered over the campus,this service is expected to bring some respite to commuters,whether they are vehicle owners or not.

Prof Ahluwalia is a senior professor from the Department of Botany and has been associated with various environmental projects and research papers. “To start with,we are planning to have around 15-20 bicycles which would be painted a different colour,going with the environment,preferably in green. This will also help in identifying these so that no user can take them outside the campus,” added Prof Ahluwalia.

The exact mode of procuring these is yet to be finalised. There is a possibility that this service could be outsourced to a private player who would be allowed to put his advertisement on the bicycles. For parking,certain old departments already have cycle stands. More are likely to come up for the convenience of the cyclists.

Talking about the popularity of this scheme,Ahluwalia admitted that initially people might feel hesitant but once it picks up,it will certainly be a hit.