CHENNAI: Chennai covered the maximum distance in cycling of all the 75 participating cities with 72,458 km in the ‘Freedom 2 walk and cycle’ challenge for citizens initiated by the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry along with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP). The city also ranked second in the ‘Maximum kilometres in walking’ category.
At the end of the 26-day challenge, winning cities and residents were announced in a virtual meeting on Thursday. State Health Minister Ma Subramanian and Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi featured in the list of winners. Subramanian, as a city leader, covered 390 km in running, ranking in third under the category. The 62-year-old also spent 57 hours running, the third highest by a city leader, and recorded the maximum number of activities in the running category by a minister or commissioner.
Through a video message, Ma Subramanian said, “In 1995, I was diagnosed with diabetes. In 2004, I met with an accident and doctors told me that I won’t be able to run. I ran my first marathon in 2014, and since then, I’ve run 133 marathons.” Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi covered 72 km in walking activities, the fifth highest by a minister or commissioner.