Sunday No Vehicle Day in Bawadhan

Spontaneous initiative of Bawadhan Citizens Forum

Pune: The Bavdhan Citizens Forum has taken a step forward to solve the problems like pollution and traffic congestion without just discussing them. In Bavdhan   No Vehicle Day will be observed on Sunday (December 6).

Citizens should get fresh air in the area where we live. The forum has taken a stand that pollution should be reduced as much as possible. For this, no one will use the vehicle on the first Sunday of every month, he said. The initiative has been running since November one. Now their second No Vehicle Day is coming up next Sunday.

Awareness rounds will be held on various roads in Ramnagar, Bavdhan from Shinde Petrol Pump in Bawadhan at 8 am on Sunday to make all citizens aware of this initiative. Forum activists, residents of the area will participate on foot or by bicycle.

Informing about the initiative, Forum Coordinator Dushyant Bhatia said, "On the first Sunday of every month, we are appealing to the citizens not to use vehicles." For this, a group called Bavdhan Citizens has also been created on Facebook. The initiative received a good response on the first Sunday. Efforts are now underway for a second No Vehicle Day and the response has been good.

Deepa Prabhu, coordinator of the forum, said that many people are not ready to walk 10 meters or use a bicycle to buy vegetables or bring some items. We are implementing No Vehicle Day to change this lifestyle. Even if you give the vehicles a rest for at least a day, the pollution problem will definitely decrease.

Citizens of the area can register on the Bawadhan Citizens page on Facebook to participate in the event, he added. Currently about 60 citizens have registered and said that we will not use vehicles next Sunday. Prabhu expressed confidence that more and more citizens will register and participate in this initiative. "It is our dream that this initiative should be implemented in the entire city in the near future," he said.

100 societies will participate

About 100 societies in the area are affiliated with the Bavdhan Citizens Forum. Efforts are being made to reach out to them in various ways. Also, groups of citizens have been formed to solve the problems of traffic jams, potholes, lack of signs etc. Those groups are pursuing the municipal corporation, or the police. The forum also takes initiative to collect and recycle thermacol from everyone to solve the waste problem, Bhatia said.