Consider this scenario: It's a Sunday afternoon, and you're scrambling to study at the library for your forthcoming exam. Your friend calls to let you know that he has placed a pizza order with La Pinoz but you left your cycle at your hostel. As you exit hurriedly, you come upon an unlocked bicycle. Gears churn in your head, and you take that cycle to your hostel. After a fulfilling pizza party, you return to the library, thoughts of the “borrowed” cycle long gone from your head. On your stroll back, you feel like you have forgotten something, but you brush the thought off and focus on your study.
This scenario is not as uncommon as it may seem. The sheer number of emails popping up in our Zimbra inbox about cycle thefts and displacement are on an upward curve over time. New students will start pouring into campus when the new session for B. Tech, M. Sc, M. Tech, and Ph.D. starts. Approximately 3000 new students and with them just as many cycles. Such unpleasant situations would undoubtedly rise along with similar models and the appearance of cycles present on the campus.
We were pleased to know recently that the Student Welfare Board has finally worked on a plan to tackle the root cause of this issue. The SWB has decided to implement the Bicycle Tag System - a tried-and-tested method in universities worldwide. Our neighbour, IIT Guwahati, has already seen the boon of having such a system and the chaos it curbs. Although it won't entirely halt all the inconveniences, it is the first step towards a better structure. We are hoping that additional measures are introduced after this is executed properly.
HOW DOES THE SYSTEM WORK?
In this system, the first step is getting all bicycles registered onto SWB’s bicycle registry. Before doing so, the ownership of each bicycle is verified. For this, a google form was floated recently asking for necessary details such as the Frame Number of the Bicycle and Purchase Invoice.
Once this is done, the student signs a Self Declaration stating the necessary rules to be followed, such as the protocol when a cycle is passed on/sold to someone, repercussions of tampering or removing the tag, and so on.
After the self-declaration is signed upon, you may now get your bicycle physically tagged. A Tag consists of an alphabet (B: B.Tech./B.S., M: M.Tech./M.Sc., P: Ph.D./JRF) followed by a unique 4-digit code for each cycle.
SWB has already intimated a deadline for all students to register and get their bicycles tagged. The rules have been made clear that no bicycle without a tag is permitted after this deadline. The security team may confiscate untagged cycles and fine any defaulters. The frame number of a student who later buys a new bike after selling his old one will be updated, but the rest of the information won't change.
In the case of a disagreement, the Institute's non-academic disciplinary committee's ruling shall be final. Students have been warned that they may face consequences if they refuse to provide a signed declaration form when requested. If they are caught tampering with the stickers, they’ll be punished severely.
Bringing such a crucial system to fruition must be credited primarily to the SWB, headed by Tarusi Mittal (General Secretary, SWB) as well as Atul Kumar (Junior Year B.Tech Secretary, SWB). The Institute Security Officer Deepak Chourasia also played an important role in implementing this.
Initiatives such as this are important for an institute such as ours and must be supported at all levels, including the student community. The onus is now on the students to maintain this system and follow it decently. In the future, the SWB must also look into measures to reduce the number of bicycles on campus that are increasing parking spaces as well as scrap at the end of every academic year.