Free bicycles for PU students, dock stations to be set up

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 15

As Panjab University (PU) has a fund of Rs 12 lakh under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), it is going to provide students on the campus with free bicycles.

It will contribute towards the decongestion plan of the PU authorities. “We are going to issue a circular across the hostels for listing the students who want to use bicycles on the campus. We will conduct a survey and then provide them with free bicycles,” said Dean Student Welfare Emanual Nahar.

“We will buy the bicycles in phases. We have to keep aside money for their maintenance also,” said PU Registrar Col GS Chadha (retd).

A committee has been formed in this regard, under the Dean of University Instructions, which met on Friday. According to an estimate, more than 500 bicycles can be bought from the money donated.

15 sites earmarked

Col Chadha clarified that plan to set up cycle dock stations will be separate from giving free bicycles to students. The proposal for setting up cycle dock stations is also a part of the decongestion plan.

The cycle dock stations will be introduced at the Sector 14 campus in the near future as a public transport. The PU architect has earmarked 15 sites on the campus where 10 cycles each will be stationed. This facility will be provided to the staff and students for free. The user will pick up a bicycle, use it for reaching his or her destination and then park it at the nearest cycle dock station.

Cycles will be coloured in such a manner that the user will not be able to take it outside the campus. Meanwhile, the PU authorities put up small gates at the entry and exits of academic areas last week. “But we need security personnel to guard them. We are putting a proposal before the Syndicate for the recruitment of required personnel,” said Col Chadha.

Poll led to discussions on decongestion

In 2015, a majority of students of the PU had voted for not allowing students’ four-wheelers in the academic zones in Sector 14 and Sector 25 campuses. For Sector 14 campus, 3,315 students (53.2 per cent) had voted against allowing students’ four-wheelers and 2,916 (46.2 per cent) were in the favour. For the Sector 25 campus, 3,200 students (51.3 per cent) had voted against allowing students’ four-wheelers and 3,034 (48.7 per cent) were in the favour.