Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (UM)
Udupi, Jul 21: A 1750 kilometres long Cycle Jatha titled ‘Karnataka Darshana’ from Bidar to Bengaluru reached here on Friday, July 21 evening.
Udupi police superintendent (SP) K T Balakrishna welcomed the Jatha to the city. Udupi Cycle Club (UCC) is hosting the guests here. About 15 cyclists from UCC joined the Jatha in Hiriadka and will accompany till the Dakshina Kannada border. All the participants were felicitated here at Rajangana.
52 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) personnel are participating in the Jatha, which has clocked 1200 kilometres till now. The 14-day Jatha had started on July 12 in Bidar and will end in Bengaluru on July 25.
The Jatha covers 15 cities in 25 districts. It also passes through 5 special tourist places namely Vijayapura, Hampi, Karkala-Moodbidri, Belur-Halebeedu and Mysuru.
The participants said that the Jatha has been organised to create awareness on KSRP and also about other social issues. “Around 360 KSRP personnel have left jobs in the past two and half years due to various problems including depression. Many of them have died, some being resorting to suicide. We want to tell the KSRP personnel that there is no need to panic during difficulties. We also want to create awareness on environmental issues. We have planted 1200 plants on our way in different places. We also want to stress that cycling is a good exercise to keep oneself fit physically as well as mentally,” informed the participants.
The cyclists start their day at 5 am and end it at 5 pm. They have cycled 165 to 225 kilometres per day.
The Jatha is expected to reach Mangaluru soon. They will visit city police commissioner’s office and other places on the way.