Mangaluru: As an initiative to reduce carbon footprint in the city, Mangaluru Bicycle Club along with Regional Transport Office and Mangalore Bar Association organized a ‘Car Free Day’ on Thursday, September 22 to promote cycling not only as a hobby but also as a mode of transport.

The concept of the Car Free Day is to reduce the use of motor vehicles for at least one day in a month. Since it is a first in Mangaluru city, the event was organized at Town Hall to flag off the green initiative. Mangaluru Bicycle Club however used to observe Car Free Day on a fixed day every month for the past one year.

S P Chengappa, President of Mangaluru Bar Association addressed the cyclists and said, “Mangaluru has now been selected for the smart city project. To prove the selection as right, we must observe No Car Day every month to save fuel and reduce emissions. Public transport can be made use of just for one day a month and see the difference in traffic congestion and pollution of various types”.

Mayor of Mangaluru, Harinath said, “We as educated people must keep our city clean and keep pollution under check. No Car Day once in a month can make a huge difference to our city and the people can notice the difference too”.

Just as Mayor Harinath flagged off the event, around 100 participants cycled their way around the town from Town Hall to Hampankatta, A B Shetty circle and back to Town Hall completing a circuit of about three kilometers. A few out of the participants did not cycle, but walked the same distance holding placards which had green messages to motivate the public to have a No Car Day in their schedule too.

Environmentalist Rajashekhar Puranik, Regional Transport Officer G S Hegde, Superintendent of Police Bhushan G Bhorase, First Additional District and Sessions Judge C M Joshi, Head Lions’ Club member Umesh Prabhu and the members of the Mangaluru Bicycle Club were also present at the event.