3000 km marathon 'Run for The Ganges' to spread awareness about the deteriorating condition of the Ganga
New Delhi : An international ultramarathon runner, explorer, author, and marathon coach Atul Kumar Choukse is attempting to run a marathon, ‘Run for the Ganges’, a marathon of more than 3000 kms marathon. Regarding the same Crowdera, world's only 100% free fundraising and crowdfunding platform is holding a campaign to raise funds for this marathon.
The 3000 km marathon had started on 31st October 2021 from the Gangotri Glacier, the origin of India’s holy river, and is destined to reach Bay of Bengal. This whole journey is estimated to be of 90 to 100 days. In this journey, Atul is carrying a trolley of 150 kgs of luggage tied to his shoulders and waist. A tent, medical kit, solar panels, laptops, GPS equipment, sleeping bag, other survival equipment, etc. are included in the trolley.
Appreciating the act Chet Jainn, CEO, Crowdera said, "Spreading awareness regarding the deteriorating condition of the Ganga becomes more important at such crucial times of pandemic and when the country is facing so many ailments. We need to spread the word about the measures that every individual can possibly take to conserve biodiversity and our holy rivers. We feel overwhelmed to conduct the campaign on our platform."
In this journey, the goal is to reach Ganga Sagar (West Bengal), the final destination of the Ganges, the Bay of Bengal, while running parallel to the holy river the Ganges, originating from Gangotri. The motive behind the journey is to prevent the melting of glaciers of the Hindu-Kush Himalaya into the river Ganga which flows approximately for more than 2,525 from the Western-Himalayas, to create awareness about Global Warming by highlighting the consequences of the deteriorating condition of the Ganges and to save the Ganges River by directing the world’s attention towards the pollution and harmful substances like microplastics filling up the stream.
Atul Choukse mentions, "I am covering five important states of India such as - Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal and several important cities like Rishikesh, Haridwar, Bareilly, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Patna, Kolkata and hundreds of remote villages."
Ganga is not only a river; it is also the soul of India. Citizens of India consider the holy river as their mother and the Government of India has even declared it as the ‘National River’, but the sad truth is that the Ganga River is facing a severe crisis due to our negligence.
For the last few years, the condition of the Indian rivers has been worsening at a rapid pace. Many important rivers of India are on the verge of extinction in the near future and many small and big rivers have already disappeared. This is a severe problem we are facing currently.
