Tour-De-Kalinga: 1,300-km long cycle expedition concludes

Organised by the Roots of Odisha Foundation and supported by High Five Social Innovation and Mission Odisha, the 4th Edition of Tour-De-Kalinga ended on a grand note at the Centre for Youth and Social Development (CYSD) here.

Tour-De-Kalinga, touted to be the longest community pedalling expedition 1,300 km in 13 days, ended here on Friday. It had been flagged off by Tushar Kanti Behera, Minister of Sports, Youth affairs, in front of Kalinga Stadium Bhubaneswar on December 11.

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Starting from Bhubaneswar, Konark, Puri, the 20-member team visited the western part of Odisha like Satapada, Chilika Lagoons, Berhampur, Taptapani, Chandragiri, Gerang, Paralakhemundi, Rayagada, Koraput, Bisham Cuttack, Kotagada, Daringbadi, Phulbani, Nayagarh and Khurdha.

The team with the aim to sensitize public on the need of pedalling to work as action against increased global warming visited schools, colleges, universities such as Khemundi College, Centurion University, GIET, Phulbani Autonomous College, Nayagarh Autonomous College, Ranpur College and so on. They interacted with students.

The team comprising 69-year-old retired professor of Delhi University Sunil Kumar from Nainital, Uttarakhand, Bharat Chand, retired Principal and father of former Indian Cricket World Cup Winner (Under-19) Unmukt Chand fascinated the public with their sheer determination to inspire and change the mindset of the public towards cycling.

Chairman of Roots of Odisha Foundation and the chief organiser of Tour-De-Kalinga Sudhir Kumar Dash while addressing the gathering at CYSD said that Odisha has tremendous potential for eco and adventure tourism that can create crores of employment for the people of the state.

While praising Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for his focused approach in creating sports culture in the state, he said the state has emerged as the sports capital in the country but the effective spending of mere Rs 15 crore can create over 15 lakh jobs in the state in the tourism industry within just a couple of years.

Tour Director Yogendra Singh, recalling his cycling tour in London Edenborough London (LEL) and Paris Brest Paris (PBP) days, said that the terrain of Tour-de-Kalinga is a million times better than LEL and PBP. The Government of Odisha should not neglect the tourism potential of the state further, he added.