Varsity breathes easy Savitribai Phule Pune University cycling culture Pune Municipal Corporation . Netherlands Making a move to smarten up(SPPU) to the benefit of a strongwith the exclusion of vehicles dependent on fossil fuel with a heavy carbon footprint,(PMC) has sold the idea of restricted transportation mode within the 411-acre campus. The proposal is templated more on the lines of existing practices at BITS Pilani and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campuses.Narendra Salunke, who helms the cycling department at PMC, met with the SPPU vice-chancellor, Nitin Karmalkar, on Monday, and proposed that the varsity should look at the possibility of containing the access of two-wheelers and four-wheelers to the campus. Instead, it should create infrastructure in the form of cycle library or bank so that students, faculty and visitors take to the more eco-friendly wheels to negotiate distances between different departments and facilities, it was suggested.“It has been found that regular visitors who use the university campus for health benefits from walks, jogging, running or yoga, have been crowding the campus with their bikes and cars. This is one of the few green lungs left in the city and it has to be preserved so,” Salunke told Mirror.He pointed out that the place gets particularly crowded during weekends, when everybody wants to inhale some fresh air — only the fuel emissions defeat that very purpose. “It is suggested that cars and bikes could be parked near the gates of the campus and people should use bicycles or battery operated vehicles to move around the campus,” Salunke elaborated.As it happens, Karmalkar proved to be an easy customer on this count and readily welcomed the concept. “A formal proposal has been sought from PMC after which the university will move towards a greener campus and also issue circulars to its affiliated colleges (to follow suit),” Karmalkar confirmed.But before getting started he admitted that aproper eco-system needs to be created for the initiative. “Bicycle stands, adequate number of bicycles and other facilities need to be set up on campus. Dedicated parking spaces will have to be allotted and other alterations will have to be planned,” he acknowledged. He is looking to kick off the practice through the faculty and students. “Once successful, this place can become a role model for other campuses to emulate. It is hoped that people will accept the decision willingly,” he added.Salunke is optimistic that a culture of cycling will not only offer health benefits and an eco-friendly option of commute but also cut out the frills of status symbol associated with expensive wheels on campus. Floating the concept of a bicycle library or bank, he explained, “It would work in the same manner as a book library, wherein students and staff can pay a deposit to use the vehicles, which will get refunded once they are returned. They will pay a rent for the use of the unit.”Referring to an earlier attempt at introducing cycling on campus, which did not sustain, he argued that the system of shared facility through the bank or library should help this time round. “A course creating awareness about bicycle usage and maintenance was also suggested. Such courses exist inand a syllabus can be evolved on those lines,” he informed.He also talked of roping private players who are already operating in the city with their cycle-sharing service. “We have already initiated talks with public bike sharing vendors on this proposal,” he revealed.Clearly vendors who have had some nasty experiences with their operations on the city roads, welcome the prospect of a captive market with the promise of limited mobility of its customers. Confirming that PMC had corresponded with them on the issue, Adarsh Kedari, marketing head for Mobike, pointed out, “The university campus is an ideal place for bikes to be deployed as they would be used within a distance of two-five km. Mobike is already operating at the College of Agriculture premises and SPPU campus would be a new place to promote cycling culture in the city.”He talked of rolling out about 200 bicycles as a pilot project. “The only concern is that the cycles should remain within the campus and not be allowed to be taken out. Also their safety should be ensured at night from miscreants that could sneak into the campus using the cover of its dense forest,” he warned.The few on campus Mirror spoke to seemed to have embraced the idea. “The decision is ideal and should get good response. About four bicycle docks were deployed on the campus as part of the Smart City project. But the vehicles ended up damaged,” recalled Harish Naval, assistant professor at the department of Philosophy. He is optimistic that things may have changed for the better now. “Dedicated maintenance and availability should help the success of the concept. Battery operated vehicles would make it more acceptable for the more aged faculty, who may not be up to cycling around the campus,” he said.Likewise, Amir Pathan, a postgraduate student with the department of Mathematics welcomed the move. “It promises health benefits and will also augur well for the environment. However, there has to be adequate infrastructure in place to support it,” he observed. Vishal Dighe, who is doing his Masters in Commerce, is looking forward to better air quality, especially in relation to the situation outside the campus. “SPPU should ensure there is parking space for two-wheelers and fourwheelers, al the same,” he urged.

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