Manali: Lahaul-Spiti district magistrate Pankaj Rai on Firday flagged off 12 member riders from Manali to Kanyakumari. The bike rally was organized by Rohtang Rider of cold desert Lahaul-Spiti in the honor of the Corona warriors.
Earlier, the event was to start from Keylong, but due to the geographical and slippery road of Lahaul, the organization decided to organize from Manali. In this 10000 km long rally, besides the participating 12 bikers, other bikers are also expected to join later.
Rohtang Rider founder president Sharab Gyalachan said the theme of this rally was to “Honor to Covid Warriors”. The bikers will reach Kanyakumari a month later. The bikers will ride through Delhi, Jhansi, Saatchi, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mahabalipuram, Dhanushkodi, Trivandrum, Barkata, Alappuzha, Kajkoti, and by 14 February are expected to return to Keylong.
At the flag-off, Rai said that this was the first institution in Lahaul that was organizing a 10,000 km long rally to honor the Corona warriors. “The riders on return would be welcomed in Keylong,” he said.
Rohtang Rider Chairman Riggin Samphel Hirepa said that in 2015, the organization had conducted a rally from Sissu to Shinkula (altitude over 16,000 feet) to create awareness about the environmental, road safety, and Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign.
Sanjay Dutta, an engineer by qualification but is a journalist by choice.
He has worked for the premier new agency Press Trust of India and leading English daily Indian Express.
With more than a decade of experience, he has been highlighting issues related to environment, tourism and other aspects affecting mountain ecology.
Sanjay Dutta lives in a village close to Manali in Kullu valley of Himachal.
