Two cyclists covered a distance of 3,500km from Karnataka to Kashmir in 26 days to raise awareness about the environment and organ donation.
The cyclists, Jagadish Kulal, 24, and Shrinidi Shetty, 26, are mechanical engineers, who work as production executives in a multinational company. They departed Kudla in the port city of Mangalore on October 1 and reached the ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir on October 26.
“After crossing eight states and riding 3,500km over 26 days, finally we are in Kashmir,” Kulal said.
On the awareness campaign, he says, “We need to go green before all greenery is lost. We must also encourage organ donation as life is a gift, which should be passed on, and not many people realise it.”
The environmental crusaders had to face a number of difficulties on their journey. “We started from Karnataka amid heavy rainfall. Besides, we had to face extreme temperatures – Gujarat and Rajasthan were extremely hot, while Kashmir is too cold for us,” Kulal said.
How the two decided to set out on the cycling expedition? Kulal says, “We planned the trip two years ago. We initially decided to travel to Manali-Ladakh-Khardungla and completed the 500-km ride last year. The journey comprised high-altitude travel as we crossed five passes, which gave us the confidence to set out on the 3,500-km journey.”
An NGO arranged their stay and set up their meetings with locals.
Ask them about the best part of the trip and the green activists say it was listening to people’s stories and witnessing India’s cultural diversity. “Despite different religions, cultures, and languages, the people of India are one. Throughout the journey we received both moral and physical support from numerous strangers and the best part of this ride was listening to their beautiful stories. Exploring the food and culture of eight different states was also fantastic,” Kulal says .
