Raj Sadosh

Abohar, May 6

BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha in the UK and Europe has raised over £6 lakh (Rs 6.14 crore) in six days to support BAPS’s Covid-19 relief work in India.

NGO’s international services director Ishwercharan Swami said Swaminarayan Mandir, London, launched an emergency campaign to support the BAPS relief efforts in India. “As a part of this initiative, BAPS began a ‘Cycle to Save Lives in India’ campaign — a 48-hour, non-stop static relay cycle challenge. It aimed to cover 7,600 km — the distance between London and Delhi — but ended up almost tripling that by cycling 20,127 km. 787 participants, as part of a relay, cycled during the day and throughout the night in three days at BAPS Swaminarayan mandirs in London, Chigwell and Leicester,’ he said.

Their collective efforts were sponsored by more than 15,000 donors. The cycles were arranged outside the respective mandirs, following strict social distancing guidelines. They were also thoroughly sanitised after every use.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted: “The suffering we are seeing in India is heartbreaking. Once again, Neasden Temple has stepped up to raise funds for those who desperately need help.”

Ketan Patel, one of the cyclists, said: “Like so many others, it’s been heart-breaking watching the news about the situation in India. I thoroughly enjoyed cycling in the early hours of the morning. It reminded me of those brave medics and volunteers working day and night in India.”

Radhika Kholia, a volunteer who was logging the distance covered by each cyclist and sanitising the bikes, said: “Our hearts and prayers go out to all those suffering in India. Although we are thousands of km away from them, every distance logged from the cyclists brought us closer.”