Berhampur Municipal Corporation on pollution control mission

BERHAMPUR: The employees and corporators of the Berhampur municipal corporation are trying to bring back the habit of cycle riding among the citizens to check pollution and to save fuel. On Monday all employees of the municipal corporation rode cycles to reach the municipal office. Some of them also came by foot. Even the corporators who came to the municipal office came on cycles. They resorted to this exemplary act as per a resolution passed by the Berhampur Municipal Corporation on June 30.

The corporators had decided that on every Monday they as well as their employees would not use vehicles to come to office. But it was also decided that this resolution is not meant to hamper the sanitary and other works of the municipality where vehicles had to be used. Senior officials of the municipality like its health officer, doctor S. B. Panda, also preferred to keep his vehicle at home. According to him people were fast forgetting the benefits of walking and cycling. Vehicles were being used to travel distances which could be easily traversed by a walk or by cycling, which could make them healthy. Some municipal employees led by Surendra Choudhury were also seen trying to convince general public coming to the municipal office to use cycles instead of vehicles in case there was no pressing need. “We are requesting all who have some work to come to the municipality office on cycles at least on Mondays”, Mr. Choudhury said.
The employees of the municipality are enthusiastic to make this environment friendly movement successful in the city. It would surely bring back the habit of cycling in the city to decrease pollution and pressure on traffic on city roads. It may be noted that as per police personnel on traffic duty, sudden rise of vehicular traffic due to fall in cycle use has added to traffic congestions.

Source: The Hindu