32-year-old Brijesh Sharma arrives in Mysuru after pedalling 38,000 kms, meets Yaduveer

Mysore/Mysuru: Cyclist Brijesh (Brajesh) Sharma of Gujarat who is campaigning for ‘Single Use Plastic Free India’ has arrived in the Cultural Capital Mysuru and will be creating awareness here for a month.

A native of Morena, Madhya Pradesh, 32-year-old Sharma,  who embarked on the noble cause four years ago has completed 916 days pedalling several States of the country. He started from Gujarat on Sept. 17, 2019 and has traversed 38,000 km covering 275 cities and over 8,500 villages, creating awareness among 39 lakh school and college students about the hazards of single use plastic.

Karnataka is the ninth State on his (Sharma) itinerary ever since he landed here one year ago, after Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Goa. Since his year-long stay in the State, Sharma camped in Bengaluru alone for two months and visited schools, colleges and universities to spread the message against using single use plastic.

His (Sharma) noble task came to the notice of Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot, who summoned Sharma to his office only to congratulate him. While Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayanand and Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya have lauded him.

Sharma who is also an animal lover, feeds animals he comes across during his expedition. The fight against single use plastic stemmed from his love towards nature, as the animals and birds will be the first victims of such discarded plastic materials.

Even though the injury to his right leg cut short of his dream of serving Indian Army, it did not deter him from embarking on the cycling expedition. Inspired by his brothers serving the armed forces, Sharma had even attended Border Security Force (BSF) recruitment rally, but lost the chance to make it due to his leg injury.

Sharma who arrived in Mysuru on Sept. 7, will be here till the culmination of upcoming Dasara festival (Oct. 15 to 24) and create awareness among school and college students along with various organisations. As part of the visit, he also called on Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Commissioner Ashaad-Ur-Rahman Shariff yesterday and explained to him about his activities, besides seeking his cooperation.

Sharma said “The birds and animals are facing the threat of extinction due to single use of plastic. Hence I am creating awareness on bicycle across the country and have reached Mysuru now. My next destination is Kerala.”

Sharma also called on erstwhile Mysore royal family member Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar. Yaduveer who collected the information about his activities, also extended his cooperation for his campaign against plastic. He (Yaduveer) also invited him to take part in Dasara related religious rituals at Palace, instructing his personal assistant to make suitable arrangements in this regard.