Hyderabad cyclists embark on Telangana yatra to raise awareness about voting

Hyderabad: Seven city cyclists have embarked on a mission to generate awareness among voters about enrolment, ethical voting, and exercising their franchise in Telangana.

The cyclists started the Telangana yatra on October 4. They will cover an approximate distance of 800 kilometers during their week-long tour.

As part of a voter awareness campaign, this cyclathon and a walkathon were organised on Wednesday morning by the office of the chief electoral officer (CEO), Telangana State in collaboration with Hyderabad Cycling Revolution (HCR) on the Cable Bridge at Durgam Cheruvu. The events #cyclingtovote and #walktovote were flagged off by the Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC) Rajiv Kumar.

The team of cyclists, carrying voter-awareness placards and supported by a vehicle provided by the government, will be touring Hyderabad, Janagaon, Warangal, Siddipet, Karimnagar, Nirmal, Nizamabad and Kamareddy. The cyclists had volunteered to be part of the voter awareness campaign when HCR collaborated with the Chief Electoral Office, Telangana. They will be covering approximately 120 kilometers a day, peddling around eight hours through rural and urban areas.

Voicing his enthusiasm about the ride, Rajesh Muppidi, who is leading the team of cyclists, said, “On the very first day, we got dozens of people approaching us wherever we are stopping to take a break. We are assisting them in scanning the QR code for installing the voter helpline app. Due to a lack of awareness about where to go and how to vote, many youngsters shy away from casting their vote or they just vote blindly. We want to tell them to vote genuinely and with discretion so that they will have a bright future for the next five years. We will also be meeting the district collector from every district. I am so glad that I took up this social cause.”

The seven-member team is drawn from a cross-section of professionals, who are experienced in long-distance cycling, including a few who have participated in BRMs. While Rajesh is a marketing manager with Apollo Diagnostics, other members include Vijay Kumar from the banking sector, Lavanya Kesari, a fitness enthusiast who is planning for her next cycle trip from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Ullas and Animesh Deshmukh are software professionals, Ratna Kumar is a gaming developer and the youngest member P Manogyan Yadav is a Degree student. Of these, Rajesh and Manogyan will be touring the entire route while others will be visiting some of the districts.

Speaking about how the collaboration with EC happened, a core member of HCR Ravi Sambari said, “We once met some State Election Officials at the Cyberabad Commissionerate. They came to know about our eco-friendly cycling activity and we came up with the idea of generating awareness about voting through cycle rides and walks to promote active mobility, health of individuals and the environment and as our social responsibility, showing a mark of respect towards democracy. We wanted to tell the public to either cycle or walk to their nearest booths but not miss casting their votes. That is how this collaborative event happened, where the government is providing the entire funds for our cyclists and this event.”

Meanwhile, at the cyclathon flag-off ceremony, students of Villa Marie College in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting performed a skit on the importance of voting. Hundreds of students participated in the walkathon and along with the officials from the election commission, they took a voters’ pledge. Apart from the CEC Rajiv Kumar and State Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj, senior officials from the Election Commission including Anup Chandra Pandey, Dharmendra Sharma, Nitesh Vyas, and Hirdesh Kumar also attended the event.