Malaysian-Indian plans a green tour through subcontinent

A Malaysian-Indian man is planning to travel 7,483 km through the Indian subcontinent on a solar-powered three-wheeler rickshaw to spread the message of ‘protecting the environment’.

A Malaysian-Indian man is planning to travel 7,483 km through the Indian subcontinent on a solar-powered three-wheeler rickshaw to spread the message of ‘protecting the environment’.

“There are about six million rickshaws in Asia and they consume millions of litres of petrol and lubricating oil. Asia may soon be the highest energy consumer in the world and if we don’t find a way to change the way we live, we will face major challenges in the future,” S R Nithy, who currently lives in Houston, said recently.

“Therefore, I would like to test whether we can use solar-powered rickshaws,” the 44-year-old added.

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The year-long journey will take him through Colombo, Mumbai, Islamabad, New Delhi, Kathmandu, Dhaka and Bangalore.

Nithy plans to ride a rickshaw that is fitted with equipment to warm water when sunlight is not available.

He targets his expedition to begin in three years.

“There are two things I want to achieve in this mission: to design Bachelors and Masters’ degrees in sustainable development and to help people better themselves. To do the former, I needed to get experts to shape the idea before I embark on my mission,” Nithy said adding, a physician from Sri Lanka and an anthropologist and a linguist from the US were working with him to achieve that goal.

Nithy also plans to have ‘cyberspace classes’ and live interaction with students via e-mail and his website.