STRAP: BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, FIT India ambassadors encourage citizens to embrace cycling as a healthy activity
New Delhi: The seventh week of ‘FIT India Sundays on Cycle’ coincided with India’s 76th Republic Day and all the Regional Centres and National Centres of Excellence (NCOEs) across the country under the Sports Authority of India (SAI) celebrated the twin occasions with much excitement and patriotic fervor.
Cycling at home was the central theme for this week’s nationwide event, which was launched by Union Sports Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya last month.
At NCOE Guwahati, newly-appointed Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Devajit Saikia led the ‘Sundays on Cycle’ event with approx. 150 riders. The cycle rally was conducted in collaboration with Youth Journalistic Association, local cycling clubs, and National Cadet Corps (NCC).
“I congratulate all of you for this grand occasion of 76th Republic Day. I really appreciate our honourable Prime Minister who initiated this FIT India movement in 2019 and because of him cycling has once again become part of our culture. This is not only necessary because of the fitness part but also to control the air pollution. This movement will sensitise our young generation and also our population in general to start taking care of their health. I appreciate the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports along with SAI for taking this initiative with the insistence of our honourable Prime Minister,” Devajit Saikia said later.
At STC Kokrajhar the event was held in collaboration with local cycling club Trail of Rebels, founded by Karanjit Brahma.
More than 800 cyclists took part in the event under Regional Centre Mumbai including NCOE Mumbai, Pune, NCOE Aurangabad, Nashik, Gujarat, Union Territories of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu and Goa.
FIT India ambassadors Ayli Ghiya, Wanitha Ashok, Diksha Bassi, among others participated in the cycling campaign and encouraged their followers to indulge in this healthy activity.
At SAI LNCPE Trivandrum, the event saw active participation from cycling athletes, SAI officials, and coaches. The event was flagged off by Guest of Honour, Dr. Sanjayan Kumar (IFS).
Previously, the cycling event witnessed participation of Indian Army jawans, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and prominent sports stars like Lovlina Borgohain, Sangram Singh, Shanky Singh, Nitu Ghanghas, Saweety Boora and Simran Sharma (para world champion) apart from celebrities like Gul Panag, to name a few.
Till now, the event has been staged at more than 3500 locations across the country with the participation of more than 3 lakh riders. The movement also promotes environment-friendly practices to decrease air pollution levels across the country.
The ‘Fit India Sundays on Cycle’ is organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS), in collaboration with the Cycling Federation of India (CFI) and MY Bharat. Events are simultaneously held nationwide at SAI Regional Centres, National Centres of Excellence (NCOEs) and the Khelo India centres (KICs).
