Murthy is entitled to an official car and owns a Swift Dzire. At first, he faced ridicule from his own children when he started using a bicycle. For six months, starting March 31, 2008, Murthy travelled between home and office, a distance of five kilometres, on his son’s bicycle “to test myself.”

“My family members were surprised and did not like the idea. My two children thought it was undignified and found it odd, but I persisted. Six months later, I gave back the bicycle to my son when a friend of mine sent me a new one from USA,” Murthy said.

Murthy Remilla on his cycle

GREEN LANE

The tree-covered New BEL Road was the trigger for Murthy to start cycling. After spending three years in Sriharikota and nine years in National Remote Sensing Agency, Hyderabad, Murthy shifted to Bangalore in 2000.

“The road from Sadashivanagar police station to our office is tree covered. It looks like the Nehru Tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir. I had spent time doing my PhD in the IISc campus and it was common for people to use bicycles there. One fine day, I started to use the bicycle and have not stopped since,” the 44-year-old says.

INSPIRING OTHERS

Murthy has inspired other staff in ISRO to follow his lead. Whenever he has a break from marketing ISRO’s remote sensing data across the world, he can be found persuading his colleagues and subordinates to do their bit for the environment. His subordinate Ravindra HS has taken to cycling and so has A S Sudarshan, personal assistant to the ISRO director.

“We used to talk about environmental issues. But when we actually saw the senior scientist doing his bit, we knew our time has come to contribute,” Sudarshan said.

Murthy’s environmental concern does not stop at the office parking lot. He makes sure that printing paper used in the office are printed on both sides and lights are switched off when not needed. “The printing cartridge and electric waste are not bio-degradable. I am rude with people who waste paper, power and petrol. As individuals, we can do what is possible at our level to protect whatever is left of the environment,” said the Electronics and Communications engineer.

ROOTING FOR METRO RAIL

The scientist is often tempted to take his car to office. “It takes me 20 minutes to cycle the five kilometres from home to office. It takes more in a car most of the times. But sometimes, I am tempted to take the car. But in those few seconds, I steel myself and shut the garage door. We cannot have the kind of roads we have in China or Japan and we cannot do the job for BBMP. But bicycles are good for our health and wealth, even if we don’t think about the country or the world,” Sudarshan said.

“For me, it is the condition I leave behind for my daughter and son that concerns me,” he added. Hoping that the Metro would be a boon, he said, “The Vajra bus system has inspired many to take to public transport. Earlier, travelling by bus was like purchasing tickets to a new movie on Friday. The Metro should also boost public transport,” Sudarshan hopes.