If the novel coronavirus is here to stay, our old ways of moving around need to change, says Kanishka Poddar, an international cyclist named Ranchi’s cycle mayor last year by Amsterdam’s social enterprise BYCS that believes bicycles can transform cities.

Poddar wrote to chief minister Hemant Soren on May 12, urging him to encourage cycling for social distance, fitness and clean air.

Hemant, seen cycling after the JMM-Congress-RJD combine won the Assembly polls last December, is believed to be a cycling enthusiast.

Poddar, an entrepreneur and IIM-Ranchi alumnus, believes that even after the lockdown lifts, people should not depend too much on cars and instead embrace cycling.

“We are living amid a pandemic. Cycling encourages social distancing. And everyone knows cycling is all about fitness and clean air, which will help people live healthier lives. Pollution in cities is more due to transport than industries. Cycles also take up less space on roads,” Poddar told The Telegraph.

He added: “The novel coronavirus doesn’t seem to be going anywhere soon, nor can the lockdown go on indefinitely. We need to be responsible about how we move about in a changed world and cycling is the best option.”

Poddar also urged the CM to earmark shopping areas like Upper Bazar, Lalpur, Old Commissioner’s Compound and a part of Bariatu for walking and cycling to reduce traffic snarls.

“Even a 1.5 metre strip can be a cycle track on Main Road,” he said, when told by The Telegraph that cycling was risky on busy roads of the capital. “Many countries have created cycle pathways in their cities.”

Anyone can cycle, he said, adding that “a cycle costs much less than a cellphone”.

A recent study by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air that analysed data available from satellite and monitoring stations of the Central Pollution Control Board found that India’s air pollution levels had fallen during the lockdown due to far less traffic. The Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board also found notable improvement in Ranchi’s ambient air quality.

For instance, respirable suspended particulate matter (PM10) at a point off Main Road on April 30, 2020, was 61.45 microgram per cubic metre, lower than 100 microgram per cubic metre, the national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) set for industrial areas. Usually at peak hours, the figure is 150 microgram per cubic metre.