Gandhi Jayanti: 10 ITBP cycle rallies conclude at Rajghat honouring Father of the Nation

To celebrate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, 75 years of India's independence, ten cycle rallies were organised by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). The rallies began on August 15 and covered thousands of kilometres of different areas of the country to pay homage at Rajghat in Delhi on October 2, 2021. After covering a distance of 16,426 kilometres, the rallies covered places like Gogra, Leh Ladakh to important places associated with the freedom movement like Jallianwala Bagh. The cyclists covered around 40-50 km per day and reached Rajghat via places like Leh, Palampur, Gurdaspur, Ludhiana, Jind, Rohtak, Sir Chhotu Ram Nagar and other places.

The cyclists stopped paying tributes to the freedom fighters by visiting historically relevant places like memorials related to the freedom struggle en-route by cycle rally. Earlier on September 21, the group reached Ludhiana, the birthplace of Sukhdev Singh. Later the next day, the team paid tributes to the great freedom fighter, Lala Lajpat Rai, at his memorial and reached Sanaur in Sangrur district in Punjab on September 23, 2021, and paid tributes at the memorial of Shaheed Udham Singh. Three cycle rallies began from Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh, Tezpur and Guwahati in Assam and covered 8217 km. The rallies covered seven states like Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi. The cyclists dealt with rough roads, heavy rains and harsh weather.

ITBP’s cycle rally

ITBP's cycle rally that began from Patna covered a total distance of 1516 km. The rally also paid tributes to the memorials of freedom fighters in cities like Jadishpur, Varanasi and Prayagraj. There was another 935 km long cycle rally that stretched from Kanpur to Rajghat. ITBP's cycle rally from Bareilly travelled 571 km in 11 days. The rally from Bhopal covered 956 km, and the rally from Karera covered 565 km. The cycle rallies held a banner saying "Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat" while paying tribute to the country's freedom struggle. Tree plantation drives were also organised by the cyclists under the Green India Mission at several places while travelling. The rallies also organised various patriotic programmes to inculcate a feeling of nationalism among the local people.

(with ANI inputs)

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