Chennai: Of late, the air quality in city is getting worse and three youngsters from city have come forward to create awareness among public.
They will take up cycling from K K Nagar to Puducherry displaying messages through placards. The journey will start tomorrow.
Speaking to News Today, Jerome Ivers (22), the man behind the mission and resident of K K Nagar said, “Anti-pollution, eco-friendly and fitness are the three issues we want to take it to people directly.”
“After finishing diploma, I worked briefly in a private sector company and took road trips in motorcycles with many clubs in Chennai. This is when I realised about the pollution and how the group (riders clubs) party to pollute the earth,” he said.
After quitting the job, Jerome joined engineering course, bought a bicycle and decided to avoid motorcycle. “I along with my friends used to ride to Mahabalipuram, Kovalam, Chengalpet, Gengi Fort and many areas,” said the fitness enthusiast.
Jerome is also a blogger and runs the page called @Jerome Ivers. ‘I usually post videos about my rides and fitness. My friends and I frequently go on a 50 km ride every weekend and whenever we visit the beaches, we find lot of plastic waste that spoil the entire vicinity. So, we decided to take up a ride – ‘Cycling from Chennai to Pondicherry’ – to create awareness and also motivate others to cycle for fitness,” he said.
Karthikeyan (24), an MBA student, who is one of the riders said, “I met Jerome through my mutual friends and I joined with him on weekend trips. Wherever we go, we saw plastic and pollution are rampant and we decided to create awareness. When Jerome mentioned about the ride to Puducherry which is nearly 160 kms, I accepted it.’
Ashok Sugadev (26), an aspiring filmmaker said, “I like cycling and when I heard about Jerome’s mission, I wanted to ride all the way to Puducherry.”
When asked about future plans, Jerome said, “In the next couple of months, we are planning to ride from Manali to Leh (Ladakh) a 490 km ride to create awareness on increasing pollution level.” Jerome can be reached at 73582 00533.