Animal deaths on NH make Mancherial youth cycle 2,700 km in 38 days

All along the route drivers appreciate his cause

With a tricoloured message board carrying the slogan ‘Save Animals - Save Nature’ affixed to his bicycle, a backpack and a small camping tent mounted on the cycle pannier rack, a 31-year-old social activist from Mancherial, in north Telangana, who was moved by the deaths of animals due to rash driving on the national highways, pedalled 2,700 km on his bicycle to create awareness on the subject. Having no fluency in Hindi was not a barrier for Padma Sandesh Gupta as people could easily connect with the cause he espoused. His bicycle journey began on June 27 from his home in Mancherial to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and he returned home on August 4, a record 38 days. The champion of this noble endeavour, who had pedalled such a long and arduous journey, had many encouraging encounters on his odyssey. Most of the interactions he had were with the truck drivers, taxi drivers and common public along the national highway at dhabas, petrol pumps and prominent towns and villages.