Union Territory (UT) Daman & Diu, located on the Gujarat border, has developed first-of-its-kind ‘Dedicated World Class Cycle Track’ in Diu island to promote eco-friendly tourism activities.
“Of the 11.3-km dedicated track, already 4.2-km track has been completed. The Rs 37 crore project will cover the entire tiny island, which attracts large number of foreign and domestic tourists,” said Bhupinder Bhalla, administrator of the UT, while talking to The Pioneer.
Bhalla said that similar projects have also been planned for Daman and Silvassa, to provide an eco-friendly means of transport to local people as well as tourists visiting the erstwhile Portuguese colony. He said that the green initiative of UT administration was supported by Gujarat based Centre for Green Mobility (CGM), non-profit organisation working for environment related projects.
“The dedicated cycle tracks are part of green initiatives to preserve ecology and promote environment-friendly tourism with the use of bicycles as a means of transport. We have also planned for a cycle rally to promote the message of environment friendliness, fitness consciousness, besides tourism and safeguarding the fragile environment by promoting non fossil-fuel based transport in the city,” said the administrator.
The Diu cycling network has been designed and planned as per international standards by CGM. On the plan, executive director of CGM Anuj Malhotra, said, “The tracks have been designed keeping the national safety standards in mind so that the cyclists are provided a safe dedicated track that is separated from the main moving traffic. Safety of tourists and citizens is prime concern and therefore all the junctions shall also have cycle priority signals and a design that prioritises cyclists and pedestrians over other motorised modes."
Diu is one of the hot favorite tourist destinations on the coastal belt of Saurashtra and having 21-km long seashore. The track is design in such a way that, it would connect important tourist destinations within the island town and exotic beaches.