Four cyclists set off on a coastal cycle ride from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod on Saturday to promote a 90-day anti-drug abuse awareness campaign as part of the State government’s Vimukthi mission.
The cyclists Sahir Abdul Jabbar, Shahul Bosq, Salim Valiyaparambil, and Abdul Nazer Thirunavaya will take the coastal route to travel up the State and spread the anti-drug message among the youth, particularly those in the coastal areas. The cyclists, under the umbrella of the Green Care Mission Grand Cycle Challenge, aim to draw the youth away from drugs and develop a passion for cycling.
They also aim to give out the message that tourism in the State is alive and resilient despite the hard knocks received by the two successive floods, says Sahir who is the ‘bicycle mayor’ of Kozhikode and coordinator of Green Care Mission Grand Cycle Challenge.
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Videos to be shared
The four cyclists will visit and shoot videos at various places to highlight the State’s natural beauty, coastal locales, ports and their history, food, and rural life. The videos will be shared on social media for an intimate glimpse of the State.
Sahir says they also hope to attract the youth and children to cycling through their ride, besides press the demand for a cycle track on the coastal highway that is to come up in the State. The cycle track, he says, will attract a lot of tourists, giving tourism a huge boost.
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The cyclists will pedal through Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Chavakkad, Ponnani, Tirur, Kozhikode, and Kannur to end their journey in Kasaragod on December 4. Receptions have been arranged in Ernakulam and Kozhikode where they will be joined by 100 cyclists on December 2.
On Saturday, the ride was flagged off by V.K. Prasanth, MLA, at Manaveeyam Veedhi. Excise Commissioner Ananthakrishnan, Additional Excise Commissioner (Administration) Rajeev D, Green Care Mission chairperson K.T.A. Nasser, Grand Cycle Challenge president and ‘bicycle mayor’ of Thiruvananthapuram Prakash P. Gopinath were present.