Health minister Ma. Subramanian and Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi have been honoured for their daily activities of running and walking respectively. They have been, among the city leaders, adjudged role models.
The Smart Cities Mission under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had launched two national-level challenges as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. The events, Freedom 2 Walk & Cycle Challenge for City Leaders and Inter-City Freedom 2 Walk & Cycle Challenge for Citizens, were held between January 1 and 26.
It aimed at motivating people towards adopting a healthier lifestyle. The challenge was also to make city leaders champions in walking and cycling, in each city. On Thursday, an online event was hosted by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), which organised the challenges and honoured the leaders and the high performers.
The ITDP has honoured Mr. Subramanian, who, it said had performed 37 activities, including running, covering 390 km. He has been ranked third while a doctor from a medical college in Kota has been ranked first, performing 53 activities.
Mr. Bedi stood fifth, having walked 72 km. The topper in this category is the chief executive officer of Smart Cities, Nashik, who walked 472 km during the same period. These leaders are among the 130 city leaders who participated in the challenges.
With 1,059 participants registering for cycling, Chennai has been ranked among the top five cities in the country for the activity. The city is ranked first for maximum km (72,458) of cycling. It was also ranked second for maximum km (21,860) of walking.
The super hero in the country is Rupesh Agarwal, additional commissioner, of Chandigarh, who has cycled 110 km.
To sustain the momentum, the participating cities would be signing pledges to commit themselves to institutionalising activities such as cycling to work, open street events, pedestrian days and improving physical infrastructure for walking and cycling. Though Chennai has produced some winners, it has not participated in the pledge yet.
