Kerala Origin Subramanian N halts in Mluru during his Walkathon from Kanyakumari to Kashmir
Kerala Origin Subramanian Narayanan from Chittur of Palakkad makes a pit stop in Mangaluru during his Walkathon from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, who’s on a mission to raise awareness of Road Safety around India.
Mangaluru: Many have adventured on a Mission to bring awareness on certain issues, either by Cycling or riding a two-wheeler, but here we have a person on a mission to campaign for road safety by walking on foot from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, which he started on 28 July 2018 from Kanyakumari, and on 8 August 2018 he was in Mangaluru, en route his journey towards Goa. Team Mangalorean had the pleasure to meet this daring and adventurous man, when he had stopped to sip a “Bonda” {Tender coconut} near Kankanady Pumpwell-Mangaluru. Meet 41-year-old Subramanian “Subu” Narayanan from Chittur of Palakkad, Kerala, and currently holding high level officer post in the Indian unit of a German automobile company, Hella India Lighting Ltd in Chennai.
Subramanian set out for the journey for a cause on July 28 from Kanyakumari, and the nearly 3,600 km walk long walk spreading over 60 days will end in Kashmir on October 3, 2018. With the dogged determination of creating awareness about road safety, the 41-year-old is traversing the coastal route from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. An array of road safety officers also accompany him in cars. There is a camera to record visuals in the cars accompanying Subramanian. Those who follow him note down the locations where traffic blocks are spotted and check whether any safety measures are implemented in these places. Also they verify if there are zebra lines in necessary places and if signal lights are working in roads that has heavy traffic. The reports they prepare will be handed over to the governments of the respective states. Subramanian keeps walking advising people about importance of road safety.
The “1 Crore Steps for Safer Roads” initiatives is supported by NGO Arrivesafe, ACMA, SIAM, FICCI, CII-Yi and partnered by Hella, Wabco and Brakes India; and also supported by Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. When Subramanian reached Talapady Toll Gate, he was welcomed by Scouts and Guides, and they followed him till he reached Mangaluru City. The Scouts and Guides were split into batches during the walk, and they were from Sharada Vidyaniketan School-Talapady; Joy Land School-Kolya; Madhusudan Kushe School-Attavar, Mangaluru; and Joy Land School Bolar, Mangaluru
Being undertaken under NGO Drive Smart Drive Safe’s “1 Crore Steps for Safer Roads’ initiative, Subramanian will cover the 20 cities across South, West, and North India in 60 days. His target is to walk 60-70 km on a day and reach Kashmir. He starts early morning, takes a break in the afternoon, only to hit the trail in the late afternoon. And during the walk across the country, citizens who join for short walks will be taking safety pledges and will be sensitized towards alarming fatalities taking place in road network. Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Subramanian said, “Every day, 1.5 lakh people die in road accidents. That means 410 persons do not return to their homes per day. My Walkathon is to raise public awareness on the difficulty of pedestrians on our roads. Let us unite for a common goal cutting the barriers of gender, social status and geographic locations for a common goal. I Don’t want to be a messenger, I want to be the message,”.
He said he took to walking in June 2017, and until now has covered 12,600 km so far. “I weighed 140 kg when I started, and decided to walk to shed my weight. After reducing my weight, I thought of spreading the message of walking. But something else caught my attention. The burgeoning number of deaths due to road accidents, and so I decided to take a complete change in direction. And so I decided to travel across the nation, bearing the message of road safety. And I chose the difficult route for this: the National Highways. Promoting walking is also road safety. If more people walk, it will be fewer vehicles on the road,” he said.
Subu will be taking approximately 32 lakhs steps for the cause, however, the project aims to take one crore steps by launching a Nationwide campaign encouraging Indians to walk for Road Safety. Just 1 km walk daily for 60 days or for few weeks or for a day in support of the cause and posting it with evidence on the campaign website will enable us to clock more than a Billion steps by collecting walk donations from just 1.5 Lakhs people.
Finally to the readers of Mangalorean.com, Subramanian Narayanan had a message stating “I am on this mission to raise public awareness about difficulty of pedestrians on Indian Roads, which can lead to urgent action for creating robust system approach to Road Safety. I appeal to all of you to join me to support this cause,” Team Mangalorean wishes Him safe Journey in His mission for a good cause.
Pics by: Thyagam Harekala-Teacher at Sri Ramakrishna High School in Harekala, Mangaluru
