Lok Sabha Election 2024, Phase 1: Voting on 102 seats underway
In the first phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024, as many as 102 constituencies spanning across 21 states and Union Territories will elect their new MPs.
The first of its kind premier Cyclothon event under the banner of Saksham Cyclothon Bhubaneswar flagged off from Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium on Monday by Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan.
The event witnessed 10,000 participants. Officials from various Ministries and the Oil Industry, Sports personalities i.e. first Odia Arjun awardee Minati Mohapatra -cyclist, Hockey player V.R.Raghunath, Athlete Amiya Kumar Mallik , Cricketer Paresh Patel, Munaf Patel, tennis player Poulomi Ghatak and others, Odia cinestar Mihir Dash, Anu Choudhury, Sabyasachi Mishra and Archita Sahu,students took part.
Pradhan administered the Saksham Pledge and he himself lead the 11 km Green and Fun Ride amidst great excitement and fan-fare. The genesis of this Cyclothon lay in Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeal to people in his monthly radio show Mann Ki Baat about avoiding the use of petrol & diesel for one day in the week to conserve fuels and contribute towards Nation building Mr. Pradhan said that benefits of cycling are not only limited to protect environment or fuel conservation but it also carries huge health and fitness dividends.
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He appealed to all citizens to join in the movement for conserving the finite petroleum resources. The winner in the Elite (Men’s) category, Rajesh from Tamil Nadu won a cash prize of Rs 1.25 Lakhs, while the Elite Women’s championship Rutuja won Rs 1.0 Lakh. Cash prize totalling Rs. 6 lakhs were awarded across various categories.
In addition, 50 cycles were distributed to participants through a lucky draw. The Bhubaneswar cyclothon was organised by Petroleum Conservation & Research Association (PCRA), and supported by the oil companies viz. IOCL, BPCL, HPCL, ONGC, GAIL, OIL, MRPL, CPCL, NRL and IGL with technical guidance from Cycling Federation of India.
Another more than 70 such cyclothons are planned pan- India over the next 2 to 3 months to sensitise the country to adopt the ideology of conservation for a greener environment.
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