Prabhakar Rao, who’s baptized ‘Go Green Rao’ because of his environment-friendly ways, celebrated a green Valentine’s Day this year. He cycled to work for a year and surprised his wife with a diamond ring with the money he’d saved on fuel. He got her a cycle too.
Rao give up his private sector job recently to teach people how to cycle. At present, the Go Green Club, from which he gets his name, is a developed group of over 2,000 members. Most of them pedal to work.
Rao says, “I stopped using my car, not just for work. My bank once called up to check if I was facing any problem. I used to spend some Rs 6,000 on fuel alone travelling up and down for work.”
His idea was so innovative that it inspired fellow cycler, Shaleen Tongia, too. Tongia, an IT professional, got his wife Namita a heart-shaped diamond pendant. “I used to always buy her gifts on Valentine’s Day, but this year has been special. I have been saving money since two years,” says Tongia.
An inhabitant of HSR Layout, he travels 30km to work (up and down) and has been doing it for the last four years. He started stocking up on up a small amount of money in a separate bank account and realized last year that it was enough to buy the pendant.
“Both of us are happy. I easily save Rs 5,000-6,000 on fuel every month now,” says Tongia.