Chandigarh, Jun 3 (IANS): Chandigarh, a city which has the distinction of having 200 km of dedicated cycle tracks and the largest public bike sharing system in the country with 2,500 cycles on road, on Friday celebrated World Bicycle Day with a difference.

Chandigarh Smart City Ltd dedicated it to the real champions of cycling comprising sanitation and public health workers, gardeners and road construction workers, who commute to work on their bicycles, carrying their tiffin boxes, work all-day long and go back to their homes on their bicycles.

To ensure their road safety, reflective stickers were pasted on the bicycles to make them visible at night.

The rally was flagged of at 6.30 a.m. by Mayor Sarbjit Kaur along with Anindita Mitra, CEO, Chandigarh Smart City Ltd, amid cycle lovers and prominent people of the city.

The cycle rally started from Jan Marg from the Rose Garden side and passed towards the Rock Garden and the Sukhna Lake and culminate at the start point after completing 8.4-km route.

More than 1,000 participants, including councillors, employees of the municipal corporation, professional cyclists, students, residents, etc., participated. A total of 500 smart bikes were also arranged for the cycle lovers to take a free ride.

While addressing the cycle lovers, the Mayor said the people who daily cycle to work are the real promoters of cycling in any city and the authorities should come forward to encourage and motivate such people by providing necessary support to them.

She said this time the CSCL has taken unique initiative to mark the world bicycle day by involving the regular cyclists, who peddle cycle to work daily to boost their moral and contribution towards environment.

She said that it is important to make people aware about the importance of using bicycles for transportation. There is a need to create environmental awareness by avoiding pollution caused by vehicles. All ages of people will be motivated to use the cycle for daily commute.

Anindita Mitra, CEO, Chandigarh Smart City Ltd, congratulated the cycle lovers and emphasised that cycling is the most convenient way to commute to work as it avoid traffic woes and make the cyclist feel happy.

She said that if not possible for a day-long ride, one should start with smaller distances, may be a ride to the grocery store or in a local park.

The event was a 'zero waste' event and water dispensers were provided at the venue and throughout the route.