Avikal Somvanshi cycles four kilometres to his office in New Delhi every day, a trip that takes him 15 minutes. Mustafa Quraishi for The National
Avikal Somvanshi cycles four kilometres to his office in New Delhi every day, a trip that takes him 15 minutes. Mustafa Quraishi for The National

In Delhi, cyclists brave traffic and pollution to pedal to work



NEW DELHI // When Avikal Somvanshi was a boy in Allahabad, a town in Uttar Pradesh, he cycled five kilometres each way to school. Later, in his first job as an architect in Pondicherry, he pedalled about two kilometres to and from work every day.

But Delhi was a different matter.

After Mr Somvanshi moved to the Indian capital in 2012, to work for the non-profit Centre for Science and Environment as a programme officer, he did not get on a bicycle for six months.

“I was a little scared,” he admits.

In 2008, according to the most recent study by the ministry of urban development, cyclists made roughly 2.8 million trips every day in Delhi – nearly as many as cars, which made 3 million trips. The number of cars in Delhi has climbed even higher since then. With 9 million registered vehicles, Delhi has more motor vehicles than Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata combined.

Mr Somvanshi says cyclists feel sidelined amid all the traffic.

“Drivers don’t know how to behave with them, what kind of space to give them,” he says. “They shout at cyclists if they aren’t pedalling fast enough, or they stare them down.”

More worrisome are the city’s wide avenues, which encourage speeding beyond the average speed limit of 50kph.

Seventy-eight cyclists died in 2012 on Delhi’s roads, according to the National Crime Records Bureau’s most recent statistics.

Although this fatality count is far lower than the 205 who died in cars or 489 who were killed on motorcycles that year, it is enough to deter cyclists.

“Cycles are simply unsafe in traffic today,” says K Ravinder, a researcher at the federal government’s Central Road Research Institute. “This has contributed to a decline in cycling.”

Mr Somvanshi eventually plucked up the courage to ride the four kilometres to his office every day, a trip that takes him 15 minutes. He says cycling allows him to avoid choked arterial roads, gives him a daily dose of exercise, and shrinks his carbon footprint.

But he still has to cope with the brutal heat from April to October, forcing him to jump into the shower as soon as he gets to work and to carry a change of shirt at all times.

On top of that, the sharp increase in motor vehicles has made Delhi among the most polluted cities in the world.

The pollution problem is forcing the government to reduce motorised traffic as well as encourage cyclists to return to the roads.

Last January, the state-owned Delhi Metro launched a bicycle sharing scheme, allowing commuters to rent bicycles from an automated rack at stations for 10 rupees (Dh0.55) an hour, and return them to the same rack or another in a different location before boarding a train to their next destination.

The facility is available at only seven of the 160 Metro stations, but Delhi Metro intends to gradually install bicycle rentals at more stations.

These bike racks are useful, Mr Somvanshi says, but there are not enough places around the city to return the bikes, making it necessary to return to a metro station to drop them off.

In the matter of bicycle lanes too, he says, the government appears to be misguided in its thinking.

“There are these vast corridors of cyclists from low-income areas to business districts, but Delhi’s cycle lanes don’t run along these stretches at all,” he says. “There is no point, for instance, to the cycle lanes demarcated in ritzy central Delhi, where few people cycle.

“And where the cycle lanes do exist, there’s no enforcement to make sure cars and motorcycles don’t occupy them.”

If Mr Somvanshi wanted, he could certainly buy a motorcycle, or perhaps even a car. But thousands of other cyclists in Delhi cannot afford these options.

Anil Kumar Jha, a 53-year-old with a handlebar moustache, works for G4S, a company that provides security guards for private residences and commercial buildings. Every morning he cycles 10km from his home in Delhi’s Khanpur locality to Sarvodaya Enclave, an affluent neighbourhood where he spends the day stationed outside an apartment complex.

“It takes me half an hour in the morning, and around 45 minutes in the evening, when there’s more traffic,” Mr Jha says.

He points to his lean figure and laughs. “See how fit it keeps me? I know men my age who look much older.”

While he enjoys the ride, the air pollution is a problem, Mr Jha says. In his village in Bihar he has no breathing problems, but in Delhi, he has been advised by his doctor to use an inhaler once or twice a day.

He has been in an accident only once – in 2007, he was hit by a car near Sarvodaya Enclave that drove straight ahead in an automobile lane reserved for turning.

It knocked the wind out of him, and his elbows and knees bore ugly abrasions, but his bicycle did not suffer damage.

“The traffic is unnerving,” Mr Jha says. “In my 20 years in the city, it has multiplied. I can feel it. But I don’t have too many other choices. The buses are always full, and they take much longer because of the jams. The cycle is really my only solution.”

ssubramanian@thenational.ae

Liz%20Truss
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PROFILE OF STARZPLAY

Date started: 2014

Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand

Number of employees: 125

Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
SPECS
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The%20specs
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The biog

Name: Abeer Al Bah

Born: 1972

Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992

Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old

Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school

 

A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro
Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books 

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The specs

BMW M8 Competition Coupe

Engine 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8

Power 625hp at 6,000rpm

Torque 750Nm from 1,800-5,800rpm

Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto

Acceleration 0-100kph in 3.2 sec

Top speed 305kph

Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km

Price from Dh700,000 (estimate)

On sale Jan/Feb 2020
 

Titanium Escrow profile

Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue  
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
Score

Third Test, Day 2

New Zealand 274
Pakistan 139-3 (61 ov)

Pakistan trail by 135 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the innings

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Lamsa

Founder: Badr Ward

Launched: 2014

Employees: 60

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: EdTech

Funding to date: $15 million

Panipat

Director Ashutosh Gowariker

Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment

Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman

Rating 3 /stars

Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
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