Manipur Minister Karam Shyam on Sunday announced that he would pedal to his office from his official residence โ€” less than one km apart โ€” every Thursday, which the opposition Congress called a โ€œpublicity stuntโ€.

Shyam called on the people to use bicycles to save on fuel, adding that โ€œif people use bicycles, it will help improve the countryโ€™s economy also.โ€

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The Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister was speaking on the sidelines of a function at Mallom near here. Later, he led a team of cyclists from Mallom to Keishampat, around 7 km away.

Congress MLA and state party President TN Haokip said, โ€œNegligible fuel will be saved if he travels less than one km by cycle every week. Two four-wheelers carrying his security detail will then have to be driven slowly to match the cycleโ€™s speed, which means fuel consumption will be much more than that saved on the Ministerโ€™s official car.โ€