A British ‘walking enthusiast’ has embarked on a journey to walk nearly 6,000 km to highlight the crisis plaguing farmers in India.
David Atthowe, whose belief is “we were born with feet not roots” reached Mysuru on Sunday for a walking session in the city slated for Monday. He is the founder of the NGO ‘Nomadic Lion’.
The ‘walk of joy’ began in July and Mr. Atthowe has been joined by Jasweer Singh and Bahadhur Singh of Punjab in their discovery of India on foot. This entails covering 13 States over 10 months and hoping to raise greater awareness on India’s farmer suicides and sustainable agriculture.
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The walk commenced from the Tsunami Memorial Park in Kanyakumari on July 15 and is expected to conclude at the Golden Temple in Amritsar in May 2018.
“Local farmers will lend their support and join them for short distances. Nanjangud farmer Abhilash joined the team on the stretch from Nanjangud to Mysuru on Sunday,” said Krishnaprasad, of Sahaja Samruddha, an organisation promoting sustainable agricultural practices and cultivation of indigenous crops.
Mr. Krishnaprasad said Mr. Atthowe has embarked on similar walkathons before in Indonesia and Brunei.
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After walking across Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Mahrasthra, Gujarat and Rajasthan, the walkers plan to reach Ajmer by December this year where they will take a month’s break before heading to Punjab. This time, the walk will commence from Kolkata and cover Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
Mr. Atthowe and his team do not expect a smooth affair as they have to cover difficult terrain apart from dealing with practical difficulties such as communicating and finding accommodation. The focus will be on spreading the message of sustainable agriculture as the team believes that the root cause of the present farmers crisis is an offshoot of the short-term gains of the green revolution.