By our correspondent
Agartala, January 20, 2019: State Education Minister of Tripura Ratan Lal Nath, who was the Chief Guest of #SakshamCycle Day celebrations organised by ONGC Tripura Asset today at the Swami Vivekananda Stadium of Agartala, paddled himself to spread the message of eco-friendly mode of transport among the citizens. Among cheers of media-persons, cyclists and ONGCians alike, the septuagenarian minister smilingly saddled the cycle like a teenager and rode through VIP road of Agartala. Puneet Kishore, GM (P), Officiating Asset Manager of ONGC Tripura Asset and around one thousand likeminded individuals, who volunteered for and cycled the length of the VIP road of Agartala, the capital city of Tripura covering a distance of more than six kilometres.
In order to enhance mass awareness of using eco-friendly mode of transport, ONGC Tripura Asset, partnered with Petroleum Conservation and Research Association (PCRA), organised SAKSHAM Cycle Day Cycle rally today at Agartala .
The Cyclothon was flagged off by Education Minister, along with MLA, Asish Kumar Sahain the presence of officiating Asset Manager, Tripura Asset Puneet Kishore, GM (P) at Vivekananda Stadium, Agartala. The event mobilised over thousand participants – cyclists and volunteers, from different walks of life, including sports enthusiasts, cyclic clubs, School students, civil society and various companies. ONGC’s senior executives & Representatives of Collectives. Mahila Samiti members of ONGC were also present on the occasion.
The #SakshamCycle Day rally started from the Vivekananda Stadium and the cyclists followed a route especially designed to allow them to cycle freely, passing through various junctions reaching New Secretariat Complex and thereafter, returned to the starting point via the same route covering a distance of more than 6 kilometres. All the participants ranging from age group of 10 to 75 years completed the stretch within 45 minutes and were applauded by passer-by during the full stretch of the journey.
Ratan Lal Nath in his address spoke on the role of every citizen to be conscious about environment and take responsible steps to protect the environment. He appreciated the initiatives of ONGC being taken from time to time in the state of Tripura and made a special mention, that although ONGC being an upstream player, in the hydrocarbon sector, producing hydrocarbons is equally conscious about its conservation and inculcating awareness on its judicial usage, thereby conserving fuel as well as protecting environment.
Ashis Saha inspired the Cyclists to spread the message that judicious use of various forms of energy and its conservation is a matter of vital importance to all of us for the betterment of our society and healthy environment.
Puneet Kishore, Officiating Asset ONGC Tripura Asset in his welcome address also called upon the need to use eco-friendly transport system. He inspired people from different walks of life to adopt cycling and other environmentally-friendly practices in their lifestyles. He said “Our Prime Minister has appealed to citizens of India not to use vehicles at least one day in a week. In line with Prime Minister’s appeal we are celebrating this Cycle Rally. All the PSUs under Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas are taking part in this celebration. ONGC has the proud privilege of organizing this in six cities of India, viz. Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Kolkata, Dehradun and Agartala.”
The Cyclothonists spread awareness on fuel conservation, drew mass attention in the city, reaching out to the citizens of Agartala, a crucial dimension of its strife to inspire immediate action on the need and benefits of conservation of petroleum products. The #SakshamCycle Day at Agartala achieved the purpose of encouraging masses to use public transport and non-mechanised mode of transport in a unique and memorable way.
