By NewsGram Staff Writer

The Puri district administration has asked all their officers to use cycles as a mode of transportation while coming to offices every Monday. This is a part of "Monday is my Cycle Day," a campaign launched last week jointly by the district administration, police and Barefoot, a voluntary organization.

Talking about its importance and relevance, Collector Aravind Agarwal said, "Cycling is not only good for health, but also reduces pollution caused by vehicles. We have appealed to our colleagues to cycle to office on Monday so that as many vehicles as possible can be kept off the roads for a day. This will also ease traffic congestion on road."

Many officers, like Puri SP Ashish Singh, are already using cycles as a mode of transportation. Singh said, "I reach office from my residence on a bicycle every Monday. The distance between my office and residence is barely 50 meters. It may be a short distance, but I do not mind cycling."

Whereas the founder of Barefoot organization, Yugabrata Kar, said that they will be soon including cycling in tourism.

Kar said, "We have started requesting tourists to take bicycle rides in Puri for sightseeing. The tourism department has also promised to promote cycling."

To avoid the traffic imbalance and monotony at the time of upcoming Nabakalebara festival, the district administration plans to introduce battery operated vehicles on Grand Road and near the beach to address the issue of pollution. The transport department and district officials recently held a meeting to execute the project.