Serendipity! We were on our regular tour with our guests from Australia, father and daughter duo. We were in the middle of our tour and reached the famous Gurdasram Jalebi wale. While we were enjoying our sweet jalebis, some kind locals, curious about our outfit (safety helmets and reflective jerseys), walked up to our bicycles and asked us who we were and what it was all about.
As I was explaining to them about our new way of promoting tourism in an eco-friendly way on bicycles, one of the locals revealed that he was a press reporter for a local newspaper. They all appreciated our work. After a quick discussion about our work and exchange of business card, we continued on our tour.
The next day, I got a quick call from the reporter asking for my WhatsApp number. And then this came in! Our team was so happy and was rejoicing on the first news coverage of our bold new venture to promote eco-tourism in Amritsar.
Here is the newspaper extract about our eco-tourism efforts.
Newspaper excerpt
Here is the translation of the newspaper article in English.
City On Pedals promoting Tourism in the Holy city on bicycles.
The company aims at promoting eco-tourism in the crowded city. The areas covered by City On Pedals are particularly the ones that are scattered in the nook and corner of walled city through which the travellers generally refrain.
But Rishabh Mahajan has made it possible for tourists to absorb the beauty of these historical places. His wife Michelle who is from Germany inspired him towards the project.
Today, Victor and his daughter from Australia experienced the masterpieces of Amritsar around the Golden Temple with City On Pedals. They stopped at the famous Gurdasram Jalebi wale to give delight to their taste buds with renowned world-class Jalebi.
Rishabh Mahajan believes that some of the historical gems of Amritsar are present in the narrow bylanes but it is difficult for travelers to reach these places and experience the best of Amritsar. Considering all this, Michelle inspired Rishabh to start City On Pedals. He started the company by buying 10 bicycles from Decathlon which costs around 15k each. The online booking for CityOnPedals has started an initial demo tours by the company has been a success.
Rishabh explains the multiple benefits of this form of tourism. One of it being a bridled control on city pollution and moreover, the health remains in check. Apart from this, it is a great way to uncover the hidden beauty of the Holy City that surfaces under these lanes.