25-yr-old Chennai engineer pedals to city for social cause

From blood donation appeals to promoting palliative care for cancer patients and spreading awareness about a little boy,Arian’s battle against Hunter Syndrome,Kumawat hopes that through this expedition he will be able to generate funds,support from people and promote awareness about these issues.

Kumawat,an employee of Renault Nissan Alliance,started his expedition on November 20 from Chennai. He has visited Vellore,Bangalore,Satara,and was in Pune on Friday. He was felicitated by Jankalyan Raktapedhi,a blood bank in Swargate. His next stop is the Gateway of India,Mumbai.

On an average,Kumawat cycles 85 to 90 km per day. “I decided to set out on this cross country cycling trip as I wanted the message to spread as far as possible,” he said,adding that everyone could do a small day trip to create awareness. “Longer journeys require high levels of commitment,motivation and perseverance,” he said. Kumawat wanted to do this expedition last December,but was unable to do it due to financial constraints.

When asked why he was alone in this endeavour,Kumawat said,“Many people applauded my decision,but when they were asked to join me they all backed out. They said they would join only if I did this expedition on a motorbike or in a car.”

However,in the city,Captain (retd) S N Dongre will join Kumawat on a cycle from Swargate to Pune University. “His vision is for the good of society and hence I decided to support him,” said 72-year-old Dongre,who has also pledged to donate his organs at Command Hospital.

The journey is mentally anguishing and can be physically challenging. But Kumawat said the support he was slowly getting from people on social networking sites had been motivating.