In an initiative to promote non-motorized transport and cycling across the Smart City, the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) on Sunday organised an exclusive cyclothon of the transgender community. It was perhaps the first of its kind all-transgender cyclothon in the city.
Participated by more than 50 people from the transgender community, the event was sponsored by Khimji Foundation. Members of SAKHA, a community-based organisation of transgenders, actively participated in the event with great enthusiasm under the leadership of Meera Parida. Well-known Odia TV actor and social worker Russy Patnaik also joined as a guest and encouraged the participants.
It may be noted here that the city, as part of its citizen-centric planning based on the Smart City Proposal, has developed a quality city-wide facility for cycles and pedestrian ways so that the emissions are less and citizens enjoy a healthy and livable environment to breathe in the fresh air with a minimal load of pollutants and particulate matters in the neighborhood air. The city has relied on its NMT planning to make it more citizen-friendly.
“We always believe in inclusiveness and for a better city, we include all communities into the mainstream. While the self-help groups (SHGs) of transgender communities are given the responsibilities of manning the parking spaces, their participation today in the cyclothon has again proved that we are going to include all socially disadvantageous groups in our citizen-centric activities and planning”, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited Sanjay Kumar Singh said.
This year, Smart City Bhubaneswar has earned the distinction of being ranked fourth among the top 10 Livable Capital Cities in India. Significantly, the city had topped in the Citizen Perception Survey with the highest score of 94.8 out of 100 as per the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE’s) Ease of Living Index Report, 2020.