Odisha Sports Minister Tushakanti Behera flagged off the fourth edition of ‘Tour de Kalinga’

Bhubaneswar11/12/22:Odisha Sports Minister Tushakanti Behera on Sunday flagged off the fourth edition of ‘Tour de Kalinga’, a 1,300 km community cycling campaign from Kalinga Stadium here.

The campaign on pedal is being organised on the theme of save environment, global warning and drug abuse.

Odisha has great landscape for eco tourism. The state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has built lots of infrastructure in disaster management, Behera said.

Unveiling of the brochure – ‘Tour de Kalinga’ by Honourable Shri Tushar Kanti Behera, Minister of E&IT, Sports &YA, Home Odisha

With an aim to connect to all its roots and create a pillar force for the cause and concerns of Odisha and provide solutions for bringing rapid development, Roots of Odisha Foundation (ROOF) has been organising this community cycling campaign every year since 2015. The peddling voyage will move to Koraput and again return to Bhubaneswar after covering a distance of 1,300 km across 10 districts.

While flagging this mega campaign on ‘Save Environment, Global Warming and Drug abuse,’ the Minister congratulated the cycling team and said Odisha has great landscape for eco tourism. Chairman of ROOF Sudhir Kumar Dash said with political stability in the state, Chief Minister Naveen Pattnaik has done magnificent transformation in building sports infrastructure.

While unveiling the theme of ‘Tour-de-Kalinga’, Dash said Odisha has a unique landscape that is found nowhere else in the planet. The golden triangle, Chillika lagoon, eastern ghats and thick forests with aquatic and wildlife are ideal destinations for eco-tourism.According to the organisers, Tour de Kalinga is being held between Bhubaneswar and Koraput this time. The participants will pass through 10 districts and cover a distance of about 1,300 km. They will complete the campaign in 13 days and return to Bhubaneswar.On the first day, the team is visiting Puri via Konark en route to Pipili and Raghurajpur.

.The organisers have planned community engagement programmes in schools, colleges, universities, and villages to sensitise people on larger issues like pollution, global warming, and drug abuse.Another objective of Tour de Kalinga is to create a pedalling corridor in the Odisha landscape to boost ecotourism, and local employment and to uplift the economic condition of the state.