Jayakumar Bhageeradh Dass, a cab driver from Coimbatore, is on a walking expedition from Kanyakumari to Nepal and back to spread the message of peace, health and environment conservation.
The padayatra commenced on May 24, 2016 from Kanyakumari. He visited Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and Jharkhand, and entered Nepal via Bihar. After spending some time in Janakpur in Nepal, he visited Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, passed through Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, and is now in Karnataka.
He carries two pairs of shirt and dhoti and utensils to cook food in a pushcart. Mr. Dass told The Hindu that he politely turns down people’s invitation to rest and eat at their house. He stays at temples, churches and gurdwaras at night and prepares his own food.
In the morning, he interacts with people about peace and the need to prevent environmental pollution. “Rivers are being polluted and forests are being cleared in the name of development. The unabated destruction of nature will lead to disastrous consequences, and the floods in Uttarakhand in 2013 and the drought in Karnataka over the past two years are examples for this,” he said.
Mr. Dass has walked more than 9,000 km in the past 325 days. At the age of 63, he walks more than 30 km daily. The expedition is non-linear and he visits not just the planned destinations but also tourist attractions nearby.
“Walking is a way to remain healthy and fit. Most of the health problems, including diabetes, obesity and hypertension, are the result of excess reliance on mechanised means of transportation,” he said.
Mr. Dass plans to reach Kanyakumari by the second week of June, after visiting Kerala. He had completed a walking expedition from Manimahesh lake in Himachal Pradesh to Kanyakumari between September 6, 2015 and February 23, 2016 for the same cause.
