Neither odd nor even

As commuters participate in Delhi government's odd-even drive in a bid to curb air pollution, Bikaner Member of Parliament Arjun Ram Meghwal has been doing his bit for the environment for a while now. He uses his bicycle to go from his residence in Janpath to the Parliament and says it is an effort to reduce carbon emissions (Photos by Vikas Choudhary)

The two-time parliamentarian was born in 1954 to a middle class family in Kismidesar village in Bikaner. He says there is clear cut evidence of climate change now. “We have adopted such a development model that our Earth is turning into a place where lives will become tough.”

Meghwal says that if Delhi adds bicycle tracks, people will be motivated to choose them over other modes of transport. He adds that he has placed this suggestion before the police commissioner

He often interacts with commuters on his way to Parliament. “Sometimes, I organise public hearings in the middle of the journey,” he says

Meghwal says he had been asking for permission to use his bicycle to come to Parliament and a place to park it since 2010. But he did not get permission then. He has found the cycle tyres punctured on more than one occasion. Someone had once even broken the handle

Meghwal says if other MPs join him in his demand, parking for bicycles will be designated in the Parliament too. He had even demanded that public transport be provided to MPs. The government has now come out with battery-operated buses for them