Bengaluru will have its first 'Bicycle Mayor' in May

This May, Bengaluru will have something it never has before. A 'Bicycle Mayor'. The city will join a a global programme envisioned by the Amsterdam-based NGO ByCS whose target is to make 50% of all city trips covered by bicycles by 2030, reports the Hindu.

This is, however, not unique to India. Nikita Lalwani, an instrumentation engineer by profession, is India's first bicycle mayor and hails from Gujarat's Baroda. She also started an initiative called Cycling Cities, the project and its operations are funded by Nikita.

On the eastern front, Arshel Akhter, has been appointed the ‘Bicycle Mayor’ of Guwahati by ByCS. Arsheel, who invests and trades in shares for a living, started by joining a small cyclist group in Guwahati and it soon turned into a passion.

As many as 19 cycling enthusiasts in the city vying for the post in Bengaluru. The winner will get an opportunity to bring together the city’s cycling community and take up advocacy with the government to bring more bicycles onto the roads, reported the Hindu.