International marathon runner of the city Atul Kumr Choukse will be attempting to run 3000 kms in the month of October with a message of ‘Save Ganga, Save Rivers’.
Choukse, who has already achieved a rare feat by crossing Thar Desert on foot February, will start his expedition on October 21 from Himalayas Gangotri Glaciers and will try to complete it in 90 days at Ganga Sagar in West Bengal.
According to a press release, during his journey, Choukse will carry a trolly on which he will load all the necessary equipment including tent, medical kit, solar panel, laptop, GPS devices, sleeping bag and survival kit. H will also carry some water testing equipment to test water of Ganga at different places. Choukse will move through the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
“I will move through various cities including Rishikesh, Haridwar, Bareily, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Patna, Kolkata among others,” Choukse said. The international runner will be collecting water samples from Ganga after every 10 kms of his journey and create a database. He will then hand over the collected water to labs doing water testing procedures. Earlier, Choukse had completed world’s toughest ultra-marathon Sahara Desert Run of 257 kms. He also ran 333 kms from Nagpur to Pachmari with a message of education for all.