Cycling with a resolve for clean environment
Dr Raj covers a distance of 80 to 100 km a day depending upon road condition and wind direction. He started his mission ‘Wheels for Green’ on September 5, 2016 with a resolve to cover 200 countries by 2030. “I have been keeping this target since the very start of my cycling journey. Only time will tell how much I could cover by the set deadline,” he said.
He bestowed praise on the Indian community in Salalah and its social wing chairman Manpreet Singh for extending support. He planted a sapling in the premises of the Indian Social Club as a mark of his resolve to save environment.
Dr Raj is driven by the service of humanity and Indian prime minister’s concept of ‘Clean and Green India’. A despair that struck the cyclist in his early start of career as a doctor, made him feel for environment and its conservation.
“I and my late wife Dr Kavita tried our best to deliver good services from our Aastha Hospital in Bhuna, Haryana, India. But my life took an abrupt turn when I lost my wife in a road accident. I also lost my beloved mother and father to illness. With this I lost hope in life, but I realised that the world has far bigger problems than mine and I decided to live for those in need. That is how I started my cycling journey.” I started cycling journey from Bhuna. India is a country that suffers from the problems of deforestation resulting in destructive floods each year. Road accidents are causing deaths, injuries and disabilities, which are increasing every year. I got motivated to challenge these unwarranted hazards, I decided to take up this campaign, said Dr Raj.
He appreciated the support from Lions Club International, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya alumni, External Affair Ministry, Government of India, and people of the countries he visited. Oman’s hospitality is something which is appealing him the most. “On my way to Muscat from Salalah, I saw many people waving me from their cars and some of them even stopped near me asking if I needed anything. I am overwhelmed over hospitality of Omani people,” he said.