Hundreds of city residents gathered to take forward the movement to reclaim the streets popularly known as Raahgiri, at New Lake, Sector 42, this Sunday.
After having been successful in cities including Delhi, Gurgaon and Mumbai, Raahgiri Day, which restricts the use of motorised vehicles on selected roads for a few hours every Sunday morning, was recently introduced in City Beautiful.
People were seen dancing to music, cycling freely on the roads, not worried about the traffic or getting hurt, and enjoying several outdoor activities on the roads this Sunday morning.
With Hindustan Times as its media partner, Raahgiri Day aims to make people reassert their right over city roads.
The roads around New Lake were restricted for motor vehicles from 7am to 12pm making them people’s own.Several city-based runners, cyclists, skaters, yoga enthusiasts, dancers, comedians and street performers took the advantage of the much-wished luxury and had an energetic and refreshing start of their Sunday.
“The concept is wonderful. I had a great time walking on the road with my wife not worrying about traffic jams or pollution. With so many other activities happening around, this is the best Sunday walk I have ever had,” said Ravish Sharma, a businessman and resident of Sector 22.
Visitors were offered free badminton rackets, discs and cycles along with other props to add value to their experience.
Subash Jha, a visitor, said, “In a developing country, everyone aspires to have luxurious life. People have forgotten to ride cycles in the present automated world. It is such a refreshing change to see so many cyclists here.”
“A cyclist hardly gets proper space in Chandigarh to be able to ride. This event has given a good opportunity to cyclists to ride without fear and have their own time on road,” he added. Actor Gauhar Khan was also present at the event.
