Hindustan Times (Ranchi)

Raahgiri put on hold, to resume from September

- Aastha Ajeya htjharkhan­d@hindustant­imes.com

RANCHI: Raahgiri — the exercise to keep vehicles off the state capital’s main road — was put on hold this Sunday after 18 weeks in the wake of unsocial elements, the possibilit­ies of rains and to avoid monotony, said city authoritie­s.

The programme is now on hold till the rains abate, with the organisers looking at the first week of September to restart it.

Initially, the weekly exercise drew a huge participat­ion, with people playing cricket, dancing, performing karate, cycling, among other activities.

However, in the last few weeks, the number of participan­ts had dropped.

“People were reluctant to participat­e due to the rains and we stopped the show as it was difficult to put up the stage,” said Rishabh Anand, one of the organisers.

They also said that several incidents of sexual harassment had rather soured the experience.

Meanwhile, additional municipal commission­er Bidhya Nand Sharma said people lost interest as monotony trickled into the programme.

Now, the brains behind the weekly exercise are planning to repackage the show.

“We will repackage and restart the show from the first week of September,” the organisers said. “There will be a number of new associatio­ns joining in and we have planned new activities.”

 ?? HT FILE ?? After initially drawing huge crowds, the number of participan­ts at Raahgiri programme started droppping over the last few months.
HT FILE After initially drawing huge crowds, the number of participan­ts at Raahgiri programme started droppping over the last few months.

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