The Andhra Pradesh Minister for IT, Mr Ponnala Lakshmaiah, has said that the State Government will lay separate cycling tracks in select places such as Kondapur, Madhapur etc in city to ensure safety of cyclists like in many western countries and encourage cycling culture in city.
He said that IT Department has created 1.8 millions sq ft new work area for IT companies in the last year. Lauding the Atlanta Foundation for organising a massive cycling event, he assured the IT industry of help from the Government and said that his department is one click away from their laptop.
Nearly 4,000 cyclists from about national and international companies such as Ascendas IT Parks, Mahindra Satyam, Invesco, BSA, ADP, Deloitte, GE, ADP, GMR, Infosys, CA, Wells Fargo, Diebold, Thermo Fischer participated in The `Republic Ride-2012', which the Minister flagged off at the Gachibowli Stadium.
A Hyderabad-based trust, The Atlanta Foundation along with prominent industry forums — Nasscom, ITsAP, TiE and AMCHAM (American Chamber of Commerce in India) and with the support of the Hyderabad Visitors Convention Bureau and the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh organised the country's biggest-ever corporate cycling event, said Mr Deenanath Harappanali, Chairman of the foundation.
The Freedom Ride 2009 raised Rs 30 lakh for Akshray Akruti school in 2009. The Republic Ride - 2010 along with ITsAP raised more than a crore for the flood victims of Andhra Pradesh. The Republic Ride - 2011 donated 400 cycles to underprivileged students, the release added.