Trichy: Man on all-India bicycle tour to raise awareness on hygiene

TRICHY: A 29-year-old cyclist from Assam on a pan-India mission to spread awareness on public hygiene reached Trichy on Thursday. Sensitising people to dump their waste only in dustbins, the man has so far covered 18 states and Union territories on his bicycle with the support of people he never knew.
Luis Das who hails from Morigaon district in Assam is employed as a helper in an ashram in Haridwar.He says his journey is inspired by the Swachh Bharat mission envisaged at keeping India clean and litter-free. He wanted to contribute his mite to the mission and hence embarked on ‘Bharat Yatra’ on his mountain bicycle on October 30 last year from Haridwar, Uttarakhand. Passing through 18 states and union territories including Sikkim, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha, Das reached Chennai last week from where he cycled to Trichy via Puducherry. “During my nationwide trip, I have been sensitising school students on disposing waste only in bins. Absence of public hygiene is the major cause of diseases,” Das told TOI. He also spoke about the importance of using toilets. In Trichy where public garbage bins were removed as a part of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) guidelines, Das told the public to dump waste where bins are available, or else in the bins available at houses.
The bicycle is fitted with boards promoting awareness on cleanliness and speakers for spreading messages on cleanliness. Das managed to purchase the bicycle worth Rs 9,000 with his money, but now relies completely on strangers for money, food and even to charge his mobile phone for GPS needs during his journey. “I spend nights at petrol bunks, eateries, temples and hospital campuses — wherever they permit and I feel safe. Having made friends in all the states I visited, I will use the contacts constructively to promote cleanliness,” Das added. With Kochi in Kerala as his next pit stop, Das plans to cover all the states and Union territories with his awareness messages in the next three months.