TODAY -
Flying cars and bamboo bicycles
The Telegraph | Arup Kumar Dutta | April 29:
Necessity, so the saying goes, is the mother of invention. Well, one of the latest inventions to have gestated out of necessity is the flying car, set to hit the roads as well as the air above them by the end of this year! Ironically, such an invention is literally taking off not in benighted cities like Guwahati, Shillong or Imphal, where caught in the bedlam upon the streets one wishes one was equipped with wings to be able to zoom up and away above the abominable traffic jams. Just think of it, we are into the 21st century, yet none of the urban conglomerates in the Northeast has even a rudimentary component of RTS, let alone flying cars!
Not only administrative measures, but also initiatives by the public even at the micro-level, are imperative if the quality of life in our urban conglomerates is to be improved. In this context one can point to the initiative taken by the Manipur Cycle Club in Imphal to increase the mobility of the residents of the capital city in general and Manipur in particular. In a unique endeavour, bicycles are being manufactured out of locally available species of bamboo called Bambusa affinis, something which is both functional, eco-friendly and involves the use of locally available raw materials.
Attempts are also being made to link this initiative with one to reduce the traffic snarls that have become a bane and, at least, to make the Imphal city centre car free. Reportedly, with cars not being allowed in this zone from 10am until 5pm but walking and cycling being heartily welcomed, some success is being achieved towards this objective. The club must be congratulated in its endeavour not only to introduce an innovative product, but also for encouraging the younger generation to use a more eco-friendly commuting mechanism.
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* This Post is uploaded on April 30, 2012
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