GUWAHATI: An employee of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has set a new national record by walking 100 km in the shortest time. Ratul Kumar Jakharia, 55, posted at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati, walked the distance in 16 hours and 35 minutes.
“He started his walk at 4.03 am on November 7 from the Azara police station (northwestern part of the state capital Guwahati), reached Boko (Singora) and returned to the police station at 8.38 pm the same day. He covered 100 km in 16 hours and 35 minutes,” AAI said in a statement.
He is the oldest in the country to walk 100 km in one day.
The airport authority organised a grand function on Thursday where Jakharia was felicitated.Snehasis Dutta, who is the chief operating officer of the Guwahati International Airport Ltd, handed over the certificate received from the India Book of Records to the record holder in the presence of the members of the Azara Sports Club which supported him.
Jakharia hails from VIP Milan Nagar in Azara. “While browsing the Net a few months ago, I came across the record engraved in the India Book of Records, set by a man from Maharashtra. He walked 102 km in 19 hours and 10 minutes. I thought I should be able to walk the distance in 15-16 hours,” Jakharia said.
He said he started practising from September this year. “I practised regularly. I strictly followed my diet during the walk. I took only water and energy drinks,” said the AAI employee.
“I took part in a cycling event in 2018 that our department had organised. I enjoyed it so much that I bought a bicycle. Then, there was another event – a 100 km cycling. I enjoyed that too,” Jakharia said.
He said he walked over 105 km, but the India Book of Records made it to 100 km.