Youth Commission Flags Off Race to Promote Health and Green Living
Key Points:
- Around 250 youths take part in Bokaro cycle marathon
- Rajganj rider Rohit Kumar Rawani wins 25-km race
- Event aims to spread AIDS awareness and promote cycling
BOKARO – The Jharkhand Youth Commission organised a cycle marathon in Bokaro on Sunday to spread awareness about HIV-AIDS prevention. Around 250 young participants took part in the event.
Youth Commission chairman Kumar Gaurav and former Congress state president Rajesh Thakur flagged off the marathon. The race featured two categories, spanning 25 kilometres and two kilometres respectively.
Organisers said the event also carried a message on environmental conservation alongside its core focus on AIDS awareness. Participants cycled through the city as part of the initiative.
Rohit Kumar Rawani, a rural youth from Rajganj in Dhanbad district, won the 25-kilometre race. He said he cycles for two hours every day, covering a distance of 45 kilometres as part of his routine practice.
Rawani added that he practises using an old bicycle and has previously competed at the national level. However, he said the high cost of a proper racing bicycle has prevented him from achieving his full potential.
He appealed to the government for assistance, saying support would help him bring further recognition to the state. Meanwhile, Thakur praised the Youth Commission’s initiative, noting that cycling promotes good health.
Thakur said the marathon began in Bokaro and will conclude in Ranchi, where the chief minister is expected to attend the closing event. He added that cycling also offers relief from rising costs of fuel and transport.
Besides health benefits, Gaurav said the campaign envisions a greener Jharkhand. He pointed out that pollution levels in large cities have made the air unfit to breathe in many places.
In contrast, he said, Jharkhand remains known for its natural environment, a point echoed by recent tree plantation drives across the state. Gaurav urged people to adopt cycling as part of daily life to ease both the cost burden and the spread of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes.
He further said that India is increasingly being described as the country’s diabetes capital, and that habits like regular cycling could help address the trend. The marathon forms part of a broader public health and environmental outreach campaign by the Youth Commission across the state.
