BENGALURU: With an aim to congratulate the scientists of ISRO for their hardwork in making Chandrayaan-3 a success, a Gandhian named M Karuppaiah walked for 26 days all the way from Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu to Bengaluru.
Covering around 400 km on foot, 52-year-old Karuppaiah, a native of Madurai, has been visiting schools and colleges and meeting students, and other public places throughout his journey, spreading the message of patriotism, Gandhian principles and environment protection.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Karuppaiah said, “I started from Alathur village in Tiruchirapalli district, Tamil Nadu, on September 21. I have taken up many expeditions across the length and breadth of the country to create awareness among the people about damages to the environment and passing on the message of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, to the people, especially children.”
Karuppaiah, who has the credit of covering 1 lakh km through his different padayatras and cycle expeditions, like ‘Tirupur to Tumakuru’ to share lessons from Gandhi’s life, ‘India-Pakistan Border (Wagah) expedition’, and ‘Erode to Hyderabad’ expedition to mark the 90th anniversary of Gandhi’s Dandi March, said he decided to embark on yet another expedition -- this time to congratulate ISRO scientists after the Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully reached the Moon’s South Pole.
“ISRO’s scientists have worked day and night to make the mission successful. I wish to meet them in person, salute them and motivate them,” Karuppaiah said. The yatra that started from Trichy on September 21 covered Karur, Namakkal, Salem, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri and Hosur in Tamil Nadu, before entering Karnataka, and reaching Bengaluru on Sunday.
He claims to have got an appointment from ISRO on Monday, where he will salute the scientists along with the Tricolour, which he has been carrying throughout his journey. YG Nagaraj, who has extended support to the yatra through his Democratic Awareness Movement organisation, said a team of five members have been granted an appointment on Monday to meet ISRO scientists.