Theft of bicycles on campus
This 500 words essay was chosen as the best entry submitted for the prompt “Elucidate on a prevailing problem in NIT Trichy. What was its origin and what are its repercussions? Suggest an implementable solution to alleviate the issue.” as a part of the Jitheshraj Scholarship application 2019–2020.
Written by Shreyas K, NIT Trichy- class of 2023.
The rule prohibiting the use of motorised vehicles inside the campus has made most of the students invest in a cycle. Cycles are lightweight and relatively easier to use and maintain and are also a good source of exercise. However, they are prone to theft.
Cycles being lost or stolen is one of the major issues faced by students of NIT Trichy. They usually cost at least 4000 rupees, and given the size of the campus, cycles are almost indispensable for students. On losing a cycle, one has to search every cycle stand in the campus and would still be considered lucky to find it.
The two major reasons why cycles are easily being stolen is the lack of a sufficient amount of railings to secure the cycles and the poor quality of locks. Most students buy cycles during the first year from the dealers who come to the campus when the college reopens after the summer break. The locks sold in these shops are usually provided for free, but they are of inferior quality. Moreover, the locks sold in one shop tend to be similar and there have been
instances where a single key could open multiple locks.
One solution is to construct more railings. Students can use their own set of chains and locks to secure their cycles to the railings. The presence of railings will also prevent the haphazard parking of cycles. The cycle sellers must be discouraged from selling cheaper locks for free and instead sell better quality locks or chains and locks to the students.
Another solution is to place CCTV cameras in the cycle parking areas. This will deter anyone from stealing a cycle as they can be easily caught through the footage. This would also help in improving the overall security of the campus.
Introducing the concept of “shared-mobility” on the campus would be a solution that is harder to implement, but the effort may be worth the gains. At any time, not all the students on the campus are using their cycle, but most of them own one. Hence, if a cycle sharing system is implemented, the number of cycles needed overall would be less. Instead of the students buying their cycles and spending on maintaining them, the students can pay a small amount each semester for the maintenance of the shared cycles. All the cycles will be owned by the institute itself. If rental charges are collected from students, it will be more economical for the students and the institute can recover the cost invested in the cycles. Cycles can be parked in places such as hostels, shopping complex and all the major buildings. If properly implemented, there will always be a cycle available in every major part of the campus, and the need for locks is mostly eliminated.
Supplementary measures like issuing strict warnings against stealing and vandalism along with these measures can help in eliminating the problem of theft of cycles in the campus.
