Uttarkashi: Some retired military officers from Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district have embarked on a bicycle journey to the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj to spread the message of plastic-free Ganga.
The 10-member team kicked off its journey from Ujeli area of Uttarkashi, which was flagged off by Colonel Anshuman Bhadoria, principal of the Nehru Mountaineering Institute on January 20.
They will cover a distance of 1150 km in 11 days from Uttarkashi to Prayagraj via Devprayag, Rishikesh, Narora and Kanpur. The journey will end in Maha Kumbh on January 31. During which, the team will create awareness on making Ganga plastic-free under the 'Atulya Ganga Abhiyan', a mission aimed at sustainable rejuvenation of River Ganga.
Seasoned Everest veteran Vishnu Semwal, who is part of the team, said, "The 'Atulya Ganga Abhiyan' is being run by retired military officers to make Maa Ganga plastic free. This project has been running for four years. Under this, we have started the 'Uttarkashi to Maha Kumbh' campaign from January 20 to 31 to make Ganga plastic free."
He said that during the journey, team members will cross cities situated on the banks of Ganga and create awareness among people, including children, about Ganga cleanliness and plantation. The team will inform people about the importance Ganga river and generate awareness on the need to keep Ganga clean, particularly when the Maha Kumbh is being organised, he added.
The team will pass through Tehri Dam, Koteshwar, Devprayag, Haridwar, Garh Mukteshwar, Narora, Kakora, Farrukhabad, Bilhaur, Kanpur and Fatehpur before arriving at Prayagraj.
Some of the team members are retired officers Hem Luhmi, Rajiv Rawat, Gopal Sharma, Kaushak Sharma, Anand Sharma, Rajendra Dhami, Anand Swaroop and Manoj Keshav.
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