Seeks support of citizens

Mysore/Mysuru: Mysuru is one of the 95 cities to have registered for India Cycles4Change Challenge, an initiative of Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India. The India Programme of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) is the knowledge partner of Smart Cities Mission in conducting this challenge and guiding cities.

Through this Challenge, the registered cities will implement quick interventions to create a safe and cycling-friendly city. To ensure this transformation, Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) is committed to working with its citizens as it develops and implements the proposals. Community engagement is a key component of the initiative and MCC seeks support of citizens in making this programme a success.

The India Cycles4Change Challenge was announced on June 25 by Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (Independent Charge), MoHUA, at the 5th Anniversary Celebrations of the Smart City Mission. It aims to inspire and support cities to implement quick cycling-friendly initiatives in response to COVID-19. The Challenge will run in two stages.

Stage 1 will run until October, where cities will pilot initiatives such as pop-up cycle lanes, host public consultations, conduct surveys and hold campaigns to promote cycling, which will help develop a scale-up strategy. Based on the pilots and city-wide proposals submitted, 11 cities will be shortlisted in October for Stage 2. In this stage, they will be awarded Rs. 1 crore and will be guided by national and international experts to scale-up the initiatives. This stage will extend till May 2021.

During the Challenge, cities will be guided through online workshops, technical knowledge material and peer-to-peer learning discussions with fellow cities. This will help cities to strategise and implement pilots, while also developing their scale-up proposal. 

Cities, citizens and experts to work together

Citizen collaboration is a key metric in the evaluation of proposals submitted by the cities. To assist the city in this aspect, the Challenge has launched an online portal which features a page exclusively for this purpose titled ‘Support your city’. By filling the form on this page, interested citizens, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), students, consultants and corporates can express their interest in the Challenge. Interested citizens can support through the following ways:

• Plan and design cycling initiatives
• Coordinate the roll-out of the programme
• Organise consultations with citizens
• Mobilise volunteers
• Be a volunteer for initiatives
• Spread the word through social networks
• Document through photos, videos and blogs
• Monitor or evaluate the impact of initiatives
• Sponsor or bring in sponsors

Using this portal, MCC will review the entries and form a diverse team that will support in implementing the initiatives.

MCC has already attended Workshop 1 of the Challenge, which focused on technical, community engagement and communications components of cycling initiatives. Over the next few weeks, the city will roll out a survey to understand citizens’ perception of cycling. MCC urges all CSOs, consultants, corporates or concerned citizens to support Mysuru city in the India Cycles4Change Challenge by registering using the link: https://bit.ly/2X0UK3v

Mysuru city is participating in India Cycles4Change Challenge to promote and implement cycling-friendly initiatives. As the city has wider roads alongside beautiful greenery, with the participation of Mysuru citizens we can aim towards making cycling-friendly and healthier city,” says Gurudatta Hegde, Commissioner, MCC.