The Delhi government has distributed bicycles to 130 Class 9 girls at a government school in Janakpuri under the Vidya Vahini Yojana, a phased programme expected to cover around 1.4 lakh eligible students across government schools.
Education Minister Ashish Sood handed over the bicycles on Thursday. The programme is aimed at eligible girl students in Class 9 and is being implemented in phases. For students living several kilometres from school, the bicycles are intended to reduce travel time and dependence on family members for short-distance journeys.
Sonam, a student living with her parents in Posangipur in West Delhi, said the bicycle would help her travel to the market without depending on anyone. The daughter of a tailor, she studies at a CM Shri School. She said the journey to school and other local destinations would now become easier.
Another student, Rizwana, said she currently takes about 15 minutes to walk to school but expects the bicycle to reduce the journey to five minutes. Her father runs a salon and her mother works as a housekeeper in a private hospital. Rizwana said none of the four siblings in her family owned a bicycle, although her brother would teach her to ride.
For Sweety Kumari, whose family lives in a one-room house around 2-3 km from the school, the bicycle is the first two-wheeler owned by anyone in the household, according to her mother Vibha. Sweety does not yet know how to ride but plans to learn during the four-day Dussehra holiday. Her mother said the school bag felt heavy when Sweety walked to school.
The accounts of the three students highlight how the cost and availability of basic transport can shape daily access to education. Walking remains the default option for some students who live relatively close to school but whose families cannot afford a bicycle or cannot spare time to accompany them. The bicycles may also reduce the need for parents or siblings to provide short-distance transport, although the programme’s broader effect will depend on how distribution, bicycle use and riding support are managed.
Speaking at the event, Sood described the bicycles as a tool of self-reliance rather than a handout. He said the government had chosen to invest directly in student welfare and school infrastructure. The minister also said the bicycles distributed under the programme were worth crores of rupees, without providing a specific total value in the report.
Students at the school also presented technology projects, including a smartwatch with SOS safety alerts and a fogging drone designed to spray anti-mosquito chemicals in narrow lanes. Sood said the Delhi government provides Rs 20,000 annually to 5,000 student teams to encourage scientific thinking, amounting to Rs 10 crore in yearly expenditure.
The bicycle distribution will continue in phases for eligible Class 9 girls in Delhi government schools. The reported target is around 1.4 lakh beneficiaries.
