Paswan plans to pedal around Paris

Dec 7, 2015- After making a faux pas in the ongoing climate change conference in Paris—attending the global meeting without a crucial document—Environment Minister Bishwendra Paswan now plans to pedal around the French capital to attend meetings in a move that may look more like a publicity gimmick to many.
Paswan, along with at least two dozen government officials and representatives, left for Paris on Friday to attend the Conference of Parties (CoP21), where Nepal was supposed to submit Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, a crucial document, which the minister was said to be absolutely oblivious about. On December 7 and 8, the minister is scheduled to address the global climate meet on behalf of Nepal.
Minister Paswan back home in Kathmandu was seen cycling to office twice a week, hogging some media attention. Now, he “wishes” to draw the attention of global leaders in Paris to the need of using and investing in renewables.
But this calls for a situation analysis of the ground.
Kathmandu severely lacks bicycle lanes. National Transport Policy of 2002 says that separate cycle lanes “shall be built while constructing new roads in urban areas”. In 2005, a decision was taken to construct a 44-km bicycle track in Kathmandu under the government’s Action Plan for Bicycle Friendly Communities. Out of around 470-km total road network in the Valley, hardly 15-km road sections (3 percent of the total) have bicycle lanes.
Cycle users in Kathmandu, who are not amused with the minister’s cycling-in-Paris plan, dismissed it as a “mere publicity stunt” that has little bearing on issues back home.
“Authorities at the Ministry of Environment, Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Department of Roads and Department of Urban Development and Building Construction appear full of promises on making Kathmandu a cycle-friendly city. But there is a clear lack of coordination between the government agencies,”
said Chakchhu Malla, managing director of Cycle City Network Nepal, a volunteer-based organisation lobbying for converting Kathmandu into a cycle-friendly city by 2020.
The organisation has also been coordinating Critical Mass for the past two years to pressure the concerned authorities to allocate separate lanes in the city for cyclists.
Originated in 1992 in San Francisco, Critical Mass is a cycling event held every last Friday of every month as being part of a social movement described as a “monthly protest by cyclists reclaiming the streets”. The event is organised in over 300 cities around the world today.
Rajib Rawal, who regularly cycles from his home in Koteshwor to his college in Balkhu, said road safety is the primary concern for cyclists like him. “While main roads are blacktopped, the cycle lanes are yet to be given proper shape, as a result we end up damaging our bicycle every now and then,” he says.
In Paris, according to officials of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Minister Paswan has requested the Embassy of Nepal to make arrangements to fulfil his cycling wish. Officials accompanying Paswan, including Environment Secretary Krishna Chandra Poudel, are yet to make up their mind regarding the minister’s wish, citing “shortage of cycles” and security concerns. Embassy officials are trying to do the needful, said Mahendra Thapa, Joint-Secretary at the ministry.
“His only intention is to draw the attention of global leaders and participants to alternative and renewable energy sources and investment in this sector, including in developing countries like Nepal,” Thapa said.
Even if Minister Paswan manages to cycle around Paris to attend climate meetings, cycling lobbyists harbour doubts that the Nepali delegation will be able to make their voices heard, as Nepal has failed to submit the crucial document that outlines national actions and priorities.
Malla, who claims to have around 10,000 followers on the official Facebook page of Cycle City Network Nepal, says the government should ensure a clear and strong policy on the matter and implement it to the word. As far as the minister is concerned, he should rather shift focus to home country rather than cycling around the French capital. N’est-ce pas?