Hyderabad 1 September 2015-- As a pre-cursor to a project to install solar-powered bike stations linked to the proposed metro in Hyderabad, the Hyderabad Bicycling Club (HBC) a partner organization of UN-Habitat, on the occasion of the Indian Independence day on 15 August organized the Chak De India Rides in Hyderabad, the capital of Telengana state.

The event featured two rides: a popular or “mass ride” of 10 kms and a competitive ride of 50 Kms. Both rides had a big turnout.  Altogether there were more than 5000 participants which included over 2500 cyclists. The event received extensive media coverage including through popular TV channels such as HMTV, TV9, NTV which covered the event live.

Visiting dignitaries included Mr. Ajay Mishra, Principal Secretary, Government of Telengana and popular movie personalities - lead actors, Mahesh Babu, and  Jagapti Babu and Director Koratala Shiva.

Coinciding with this event, the All India Bicycling Federation (AIBF) was launched in Hyderabad with ten founding members from all over India including Hyderabad Bicycling Club, Go Green Go Cycling, Bangalore, Vijayawada Capital Cycling Club, Noida Cycling Club, New Delhi, Jaipur Cycling Club, Ahmedabad Bicycling Club, Rourkela Bicycling Club, Sangru Cycling Club, Punjab and the Baroda Bicycling Club.

“AIBF’s Mission is to promote cycling all over India and to promote the development of cycling Infrastructure in all the upcoming Smart Cities in India  so that cycling becomes an integral part of smart public transport systems” said Mr. D V Manohar, the Chairman of AIBF. Mr. Manohar added that in the UN climate summit held last September in New York City, UN-Habitat had launched the “Urban Electric Mobility Initiative” that seeks to increase the uptake of electric mobility in cities together with better and more compact urban planning and a move to cleaner sources of energy.

The proposed project to install solar powered bike stations in collaboration with the Hyderabad Metro is an example of how the UEMI could be implemented in practice. “I hope this example will encourage other cities and countries to explore and take up such initiatives,” he said.