All-Women Cyclathon Organised To Celebrate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav In Odisha Capital

Bhubaneswar: An all-women cyclathon was organised by Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) on the second day of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebration here on Saturday. The day coincides with the birth anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi Lal Bahadur Shastri.

The cyclathon was organised to promote healthy lifestyle and create awareness on breast cancer, with partnering civil society organisation, KRIAA Foundation and Commissionerate of Police.

The cyclathon participants started from Sishu Bhawan Square and went through Janpath, Exhibition Ground Road, Sachivalaya Marg and Udhayn Marg. The participants are from Rama Devi Women’s University and Kamala Nehru Women’s College.

Director, Acharya Harihar Post-Graduate Institute of Cancer, Cuttack Professor Dr Lalatendu Sadangi presided over the event. Leading surgeon, Professor and HOD of Surgical Oncology in AIIMS Bhubaneswar Dr Madhabananda Kar joined as guest of honour.

General Manager Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited Kamaljit Das and founder of KRIAA Foundation Lili Jenamani also spoke on the occasion.

Adyasha Nayak, a student of Kamala Nehru Women’s College, said “All participants used Mo Cycle and enjoyed the ride. With the city providing a beautiful atmosphere to the cyclists the riders enjoyed the time.’’

Muzda Taliha of Rama Devi Women’s University said “the event was well-organised to provide a unique platform and awareness on a prominent health issue of women. We also got an opportunity to check the cycling infrastructure of the city and found that it is very much citizen friendly.’’

The city has relied on its non-motorised transport (NMT) planning to make it more livable.

In July this year the Temple City bagged India Cycles4Change Challenge Stage-1 Award as it was adjudged among the top 11 Cycling Pioneers of the nation. All the 11 cities will receive an award of Rs 1 crore each to scale-up their cycling events in their respective cities.

Managing Director and CEO of Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited Sanjay Kumar Singh said “we are committed to provide better and healthy living conditions and facilities for citizens so that the clean and green tag of Bhubaneswar would be seen translated to reality in every zone and sub zones to make it a wonderful place to live in.’’

This year, Bhubaneswar was ranked fourth among the top 10 Livable Capital Cities in India. Interestingly, the Temple City had topped in the Citizen Perception Survey with the highest score of 94.8 out of 100 as per the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE’s) Ease of Living Index Report, 2020.

A blood donation camp was also organised on the grand occasion by different volunteers at Kamala Nehru Women’s College. Several corporate and business houses were partners in this programme.

On Sunday, a a special heritage walk will be organised in the Old Town area at 7.05 am starting from Mukteswar Temple, which is known for its unique arch and beautiful carvings on the temple wall
projecting the Kalingan temple architecture.