(1/11) Sarika Panda Bhatt, a resident of Gurugram, is a cycling enthusiast leading the spokes for change with unique campaigns that promote safe walking and cycling in urban areas.
(2/11) Also the founder of Raagiri Day, India’s first car-free day campaign, Sarika launched an extraordinary movement to raise awareness about pollution, health, and cycling.
(3/11) While she first launched the campaign in Gurugram in November 2013, it has now grown to over 70 locations in India.
Sarika is an architect and urban planner by profession and also the ‘Bicycle Mayor’ of Gurgaon under the BYCS program.
(4/11) An international NGO, BYCS is guided by the belief that bicycles can transform urban cities.
The environmental activist has always questioned that If half of India is either cycling or using two-wheelers, then why do we continue designing our stress for cars?
(5/11) For Sarika, streets need to be designed for the public, and safe roads are the need for the hour for all users.
(6/11) The Raahgiri foundation actively advocates for constructing cycle paths, making proper sidewalks, dedicating spaces for pedestrians, and making green belts on sections of roads.
Sarika says that it is her mission to ‘re-cycle’ Indian cities.
(7/12) “The way automobiles are promoted, and the infrastructure that they get makes cycling tedious and unsafe…Therefore, we need to recycle our cities, starting with our street design,” she tells BYCS.
(8/11) According to the Gurugram bicycle mayor, the biggest problem is the lack of cycling infrastructure and no incentives for employees who cycle to work.
(9/11) As the mayor, she hopes to use her urban planning skills and works with the local government to create an infrastructure for cycling.
(10/11) “My experience with Raagiri Day has shown that engaging with public, private, and communities can bring about positive change….I can bring the knowledge around creating impact at scale,” she adds.
Sarika’s efforts are returning Gurugram’s streets to its citizens.
(11/11) #WingifyEarth encourages such proactive initiatives.
(1/4) #HeroesOfHumanity
"I used to do philanthropic work along with the job. Seeing young girls toiling for hours in the rubbish dumps for a living, I realised that something should be done for the underprivileged children too."
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Nandita Banerjee from Danapur, Bihar, then quit her bank manager job and worked for homeless children. She decided to open schools for impoverished girls and started the NGO 'Nai Dharti' in 2011.
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Sister Nivedita Girls' School, run by the NGO in Maner block of Danapur's Sarai village, is now providing free education to 100 underprivileged girls who cannot afford school supplies.
Serving a plethora of local and seasonal delights, every region across India has its own take on the thali. Which one would you crown 'satisfaction on a platter'?
PS. This is not an exhaustive list. Did you check out Part 1?
Food streets give you a taste of a city's traditional as well as some local delicacies. While some have fascinating histories, others just popped up with time.
Do you also know of such #KhauGallis? #FoodStreets#Traditional#TheBetterIndia
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His father worked as an operator in Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) and earned barely enough to sustain the family, which comprised Johnny along with three sisters and two brothers.
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Owing to financial problems, Johnny had to leave school when he was in Class 7 and take up odd jobs. From selling pens and dancing on the streets of Mumbai to mimicking Bollywood actors, Johnny did it all.
In India, women account only for 19.9% of the total workforce, out of which 81.3% belong to rural women, as per World Bank Data (2020). @DrRumaDevi
Though access to education has improved, those who are more educated remain unemployed because of the unavailability of formal jobs and low wages.
However, various organisations and individuals are working towards improving this situation by providing skill training and even creating job opportunities for the #ruralwomen across the country. @SajheSapne