5 crores. wasted

TOI REPORTS: MUMBAI: The city's first cycle track, inaugurated four months ago at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), has not taken off as expected. The 13-km track, which cost the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) Rs 5 crore, is still not being used by people in the complex. MMRDA officials said the track will need some promotion in terms of events before it begins to be used on a regular basis. ''New trends taken time to catch on,'' they said. The track was inaugurated in May by chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and was expected to give a boost to the movement for green transport. After a high-profile cycling event, the track seemed to have been put on the backburner. Now, a few residents of BKC use the track to park their vehicles. MMRDA officials and bicycling enthusiasts had talked about promoting the track through events to generate excitement among cyclists. There were plans to have the track extended to 16 km but this will take some time. Additional commissioner, MMRDA, S Srinivas, said, ''We have a plan to have cycle stands which give cycles on hire for the area sponsored by corporates. He said the work of having a special track for cyclists has been done. All over the globe, cycling is catching on as an eco-friendly mode of transport,'' he added.