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FDA Maharashtra holds curtain raiser of cyclothon Swasth Bharat Yatra
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Saturday, 13 October, 2018, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Shraddha Joshi, Mumbai
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Food and Drug Admistration (FDA) Maharashtra held the curtain raiser of the Swasth Bharat Yatra, a pan-India cyclothon, an outreach of the Eat Right India movement being organised by FSSAI, in association with the ministry of culture, Swatch Bharat Mission, Poshan Abhiyan and National Health Mission.
The state FDA organised the curtain raiser at Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Recreation Hall, Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai, in the presence of Girish Bapat, minister of food and drug administration, Government of Maharashtra; Pallavi Darade, commissioner, Food and Drug Administration, Maharashtra, representatives of municipal corporations, secretaries of medical education and drug department.
Swasth Bharat Yatra is aimed at overcoming malnourishment, micro-nutrient deficiency and lifestyle diseases like obesity, diabetes and heart diseases. The cyclothon will flag off on World Health Day (October 16, 2018) from six different locations covering about 2,000 locations. It will culminate at New Delhi on January 27, 2019.
Over 150 volunteer-cyclists, along with the Eat Right Mobile Unit and the Mobile Food Testing Unit, will travel across the country over 100-plus days to engage citizens on the issues of food safety, combating food adulteration and healthy diets.
The Eat Right India is the soul of the Swasth Bharat Yatra, which consists of three components – Eat Healthy, Eat Safe and Eat Fortified.
During his address at the curtain raiser, Bapat said, “There is a need for public awareness on how to eat healthy and safe food. A lot of food is wasted by the people every day. It is a right of every individual to have good and safe food. We strongly support FSSAI’s initiative of Swasth Bharat Yatra.”
Sharing the details of the cyclothon, Darade said, “There is a total of six cyclothon tracks. Of these, three will pass through the state between October 18 and December 24, 2018. On every track, about 25 cyclists will complete the distance of 50-60km on every segment and pass on the relay baton to the next batch of cyclists at the pre-decided stop. On January 27, 2019, prime minister Narendra Modi will conclude the Swasth Bharat Yatra.”
Further revealing the plans by FDA Maharashtra, she added, “We have partners with various government and private agencies like Central ministries, district administration and local bodies, event managenment companies, professional associations, consumer and civil society organisations, hotel and restaurant associations, cycling logistics and supports, corporates, colleges, schools and media. The core elements during the yatra would include public meetings for awareness building and recognition of participants, Prabhat Pheri of at least 80 people for mass mobilisation and developing a pool of local champions.”
Darade said, “Other optional elements would include free testing for anaemia and other conditions, poster or painting competitions, etc. FDA Maharashtra would also create toolkit and review the progress.”
Swasth Bharat Yatra has been brought forth by Modi with the idea of making the masses aware of healthy eating habits and to bring about a sustainable social change by taking the Eat Right India movement to the masses.
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