Kolkata Police’s recent ban on cycling on certain thoroughfares in the city will not just harm the environment but also hurt the people
What Kolkata thinks today, the country (or was it the worldIJ) thinks tomorrow is passé. What the world thinks today, Kolkata think otherwise is current.
A ban on cycling in Kolkata has sparked protests in recent days and reignited the debate over the State’s attitudes toward its poor — many of whom cannot afford even a bus ride — and its commitment to addressing air quality. Under the West Bengal Traffic Regulation Act, 1965, Kolkata Police has barred bicycles from 174 thoroughfares. The ban includes cycles, cycle vans, handcarts, pull-carts and bakery vans. The ban is an extension of the notification issued by the Commissioner of Police of Kolkata on August 11, 2008, which barred bicycles from plying or standing between 9am and 7pm on 38 thoroughfares of the city, which includes Dalhousie, Esplanade area, Chowringhee Road, Park Street, Shakespeare Sarani, Camac Street , Red Road, Chittaranjan Avenue, Asutosh Mukherjee Road, SP Mukherjee Road, Gariahat Road, MG Road and Ballygunge Circular Road.
There are important links between transport systems, livelihoods and poverty, especially in megacities like Kolkata. Non-motorised transport like cycling offers significant benefits to marginal groups. Given the wide coverage of the ban across the city, the biggest losers will be the overwhelming mass of poor people.
It's an irony that the West Bengal Government, which claims to be ‘pro-poor' and sings the slogan of ‘Maa, Maati,Maanush’, has enforced this ban, instead of providing a holistic solution to Kolkata's transport problem. Across the world, Governments are looking at a multi-model transport system, while here it is rejecting the rights of poor to commute in an affordable and green way. The ban has complicated the lives of those who depend on cycling for their livelihood. The small carts are essential to commerce in the city, as many trucks can't navigate Kolkata's narrow, colonial-era lanes. The city's milkmen — who pick up thigh-high cans of milk at the Jorasanko milk market and distribute them throughout Kolkata on bicycles — also have felt the blow on their face.
According to Mr K Hari Rajan, Additional Commissioner (Traffic) of Kolkata Police, cycling is banned in major thoroughfares of the city for two reasons: To ensure that traffic flow is not disturbed by the mix of fast-moving vehicles and bicycles as Kolkata has no provision for dedicated cycling tracks; and, second, ‘security concerns’, as cycles are often used to plant bombs.
However, the data provided by the Union Ministry of Urban Development shows Kolkata is the only metropolitan city in India where trips by cycle (11 per cent) outnumber trips by cars (eight per cent). Hence, the ban makes little sense for the city. Also, a report released by Centre for Science Environment on ‘Air Quality and Mobility in Kolkata’ shows that the city is under a major mobility and multi-pollutant crisis. Several areas in Kolkata — Salt lake, Moulali, Minto Park, lal Bazar, Behala Chowrasta — have already been classified as ‘critical' in terms of air quality as per nitrogen dioxide levels and particle matter levels.
Police, however, stick to their stand. Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) Dilip Adak said, “If we allow cycling on these roads, the life of cyclists will be in danger as there are no dedicated tracks. Also, cycles slow down traffic.” His argument doesn't sound convincing at all.
Traffic accident data for West Bengal (2011) says that only 1.5 per cent of road accidents happen because of the fault of cyclists compared to 71 per cent due to drivers of motor vehicles. Kolkata traffic police's contention that cycles slow down traffic also doesn't hold ground since the average speed in Kolkata is merely 14-18 kmph. The State's Transport Minister Madan Mitra said, “Kolkata has fewer cars than other metropolitan cities in the country, but most of its roads and streets are narrow... It's a decision to increase the speed of vehicles.” Mr Mitra also added: “It's not a blanket ban. One can ride cycles in the lanes and bylanes of the city.”
While the whole world, including Indian cities like Delhi, Ahmedabad and Pune, is promoting cycling for a greener and cleaner environment, West Bengal is taking a leap backward. The move would possibly lead to a substantial rise in respiratory problems and lung cancer in the city (branded as one of the most polluted cities of the world). Besides the issue of pollution, the ban will also adversely affect the livelihood of several daily-wage earners like the local milkman, newspaper vendor etc. If these people are forced to avail of public transport, the prices of milk, newspapers, eggs and other essentials, which are often delivered to customers on cycles and handcarts, will go up, affecting the economics of the people.