DIMAPUR, July 29 - Kohima will participate in the India Cycles4Change Challenge under the initiative of Kohima Smart City Development Limited (KSCDL) and in partnership with various stakeholders, local champions and citizens.
Kovi Meyase, CEO, KSCDL, said Kohima is among the 95 cities in the country which have registered for the India Cycles4Change Challenge.
It is an initiative of the Smart Cities Mission, Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, which aims to inspire and support the cities to implement quick cycling-friendly initiatives in response to COVID-19.
The India Programme of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy is the knowledge partner of the Smart Cities Mission in conducting this challenge and guiding cities through it. Through this challenge, the registered cities will implement quick interventions to create a safe and cycling-friendly city.
The KSCDL said to ensure this transformation, Kohima is committed to working with its citizens as it develops and implements the proposals. It sought their support in making this programme a success as community engagement is a key component of the initiative.
The KSCDL recently launched the Kohima Cycles4Change Campaign to encourage more people to go for cycling and adopt fitness, balanced growth, personal transport, and a cultural shift towards cycling for a better and greener future.
Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs (independent charge) Hardeep Singh Puri announced the India Cycles4Change Challenge on June 25 at the fifth anniversary celebrations of the Smart City Mission in New Delhi.
Kohima has already attended the first workshop of the challenge that focused on the technical, community engagement, and communications components of cycling initiatives. Over the next few weeks, the city will roll out a survey to understand the citizens� perception of cycling.
The survey aims to identify barriers to cycling in Kohima and inform the design process. The city urged all civil society organisations, consultants, corporate or concerned citizens to support it in the India Cycles4Change Challenge.
The challenge will run in two stages. In the first stage, which will run till October, the 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 the city-wide proposals, 11 cities will be shortlisted for the second stage in October.
In stage 2, they will be awarded Rs 1 crore and guided by national and international experts to scale-up the initiatives. This stage will extend till May 2021.
During the course of the challenge, the cities will be guided through online workshops, technical knowledge material, and peer-to-peer learning discussions with fellow cities. This will help cities strategise and implement pilots, while also developing their scale-up proposal, the KSCDL said.
