A colorful bicycle rally took place at the central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka, Bangladesh, demanding to increase bicycling facilities to prevent Carbon emissions and climate change

Today, December 2, 2022, at 10 am, at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka, Bangladesh, cyclists gathered from different parts of the city. They organized a colorful Bicycles Rally, including a cultural program supporting an extension of bicycling facilities in the country.

Green Movement Limited, Green Page, Bangladesh Cycle Lane Implementation Parishad, and leaders and activists of like-minded organizations organized the event, and the demands were-

• To demand a weekly Bicycling day in the country
• To ensure bicycle parking everywhere, like markets, shopping malls, educational institutions, offices, roadside, etc.
• To facilitate separate bicycle lanes on every roadside or its middle.
• To facilitate bicycle loans among students and workers.
• To be charged with attitudes towards women cyclists and to support their safe movements.

Mrs. Fatema Zinnat, Chairman and Managing Director of Green Movement Limited and Publisher of Green Page, presided over the program. Lucky Enam, an eminent drama personality and Chairman of Bangladesh Shishu Academy, attended the event as a chief guest.

Jhuna Chowdhury, the former Secretary General of Bangladesh Group Theater Federation and prominent theater personality inaugurated the bicycle rally to inspire the young generation with patriotism and to protect the environment. Peerzada Shahidul Harun, Additional Finance Secretary of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and a prominent dramatist and film personality, was present as a special guest.

Engineer and Environmentalist Md. Mahfuzur Rahman, Superintending Engineer of Bangladesh Water Development Board and Chief Advisor (Honorary) of Green Movement Ltd., and Green Page delivered the welcome speech.

Other event speakers were Dr. M Helal, the editor-in-chief of the Campus, Md. Aminul Islam Tubbus, President of Bangladesh Cycle Lane Implementation Council (BD Click), Manjur Hossain Isa, National Human Rights Association Chairman, R.Kivist Al Amin Bin Hasim, writer, and researcher Md. Tahajjat Hossain, President of Dhanmondi Tourist Cyclist, Fakrul Hossain, Director of Brain and Life Hospital, Nahar Kana, President of Family Cyclist and Eminent dancer and actress, Md Muktar Hossain, General Secretory at Dhaka Cultural Forum, Md Musa and Naznin Noor, Advisor and coordinator of BD Click among others.

In the speech of the special guest, Lucky Enam said, “We are living in an unhealthy environment. As soon as we go out on the street, we can see smoke and smoke all around, as if we can’t breathe.

In addition, we cannot walk because of the traffic jam. It takes us an hour to cross the ten-minute road. However, suppose we can increase the facilities of bicycles instead of motorized vehicles.

In that case, our environmental pollution will reduce, and it will be possible to build a harmonious and disease-free life for all. It has become necessary to establish bicycle lanes and safe bicycle parking to increase the facilities for bicycle movement throughout the country.

I thank the organizers for organizing such a national logical patriotic demand-based cycle rally from Central Shaheed Minar on the 2nd day of Victory month and wish it a success.”

Prominent theater personality Jhuna Chowdhury said in the inauguration speech,” We must reduce carbon emissions to prevent climate change. Walking or cycling, we can stay healthy while reducing carbon emissions.”

Engineer and Environmentalist Md. Mahfuzur Rahman, in his welcome speech, said, ‘The existence of this planet Earth is facing threats due to the unlimited demand of people for luxury, lust for high luxury, mismanagement of human waste and development activities in terms of industry, communication, and employment.

In all these human-made activities, the atmosphere pollutes by the emission of greenhouse gases, and the global temperature is increasing rapidly due to the greenhouse effect.

Due to the rapid increase in temperature, the ice in the polar regions is melting rapidly; due to the sea level’s continuous rise, the sea coast is continuously sinking, including the islands in the sea. And the climate is constantly unfolding.”

“In addition, due to the greenhouse effect, the world’s climate is rapidly changing due to the increase in temperature. The incidence of storms, rains, floods, cyclones, and tsunamis is increasing day by day rapidly and intensely.

The main component of greenhouse gases is CO2, and currently, about 17% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions come from motor vehicles running on fossil fuels (petrol, diesel, octane, coal, etc.).

On the other hand, in the current situation, there is an acute shortage of fossil fuels worldwide, and our country has to spend a lot of foreign currency to procure fossil fuels. However, reducing fossil fuel-powered vehicles in the country and increasing the number of non-fuel vehicles, such as bicycles, will reduce carbon and greenhouse gas emissions.

This can also make us healthy citizens and save our foreign currency for the country’s citizens. Expenditure on medical and education sectors can increase along with food purchases.

Therefore, improving the facilities for cycling everywhere in the country is needed,” Engineer an Environment Md. Mahfuzur Rahman continued.

Pirzada Shahidul Harun said in his speech, “The world has fallen into mortal danger due to environmental pollution. So we must reduce carbon emissions. We must move forward with the determination to build a pollution-free green world. As a part of that, instead of motor vehicles, non-fuel vehicles like cycling should increase.”

Md. Aminul Islam Tubbus thanked all present for their spontaneous participation in the program. They requested them to participate in the future to establish separate cycle lanes for cycling and build a bicycle network and safe bicycle parking everywhere.

Besides, he calls for participation in accelerating demand for increased cycling facilities, including establishment.

Mrs. Fatema Zinnat said in the presidential address,” To reduce environmental pollution, improve the national health situation, reduce travel costs, increase the working hours of the country by reducing traffic jams, save the foreign currency and can expedite the country’s developments by establishing separate bicycle lanes on the side of the road for bicycling.

Our demands are logical. We hope that the government will take the initiative to implement these demands quickly for the sake of the country and the environment.

This will speed up the implementation of our commitment to a pollution-free green Earth for future generations. He expressed optimism that everyone would also participate spontaneously in such programs in the future.”

Various dance and cultural performances have been held at the programs in starting and intervals. Then the program concluded with the cycle rally and distribution of certificates.