Mansukh Mandaviya to lead Fit India Sundays on Cycle in Varanasi to combat youth addiction
New Delhi, July 19 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) With 65 per cent of the country’s population below the age of 35 years, substance abuse poses one of the gravest threats confronting India’s youth, trapping them at a pivotal stage of life and posing a challenge to national progress. Keeping this in mind, Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Mansukh Mandaviya will be leading the special edition ‘Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat’ of nationwide ‘Fit India Sundays on Cycle’ on July 20 from the Banaras Hindu University campus in Varanasi.
The 32nd edition of the Fit India Sundays on Cycle will be organised at 6000 locations across the country in partnership with several educational institutions including the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Kendriya Vidayalaya Sangathan, Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE), DAV College Management Committee, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti and Bal Bharati Public School.
Mandaviya has given a clarion call to 15 lakh schools across the country to pedal for health and a drug-free Viksit Bharat. Started by the Union Sports Minister in December 2024, the ‘FIT India Sundays on Cycle’ has transformed into a mass movement and has been organised in thousands of locations across the country with participation of more than 50,000 individuals every week.
In New Delhi, the event will be flagged off at 7 am IST from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium along with thousands of children from schools of the National Capital Region (NCR).
“Youth are the nation builders of tomorrow. A healthy youth can only take the nation towards prosperity. As envisioned by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India can transform into a Viksit Bharat by 2047 only when our youth are healthy and fit.
“Today, addiction and substance abuse have become big threats for the development of our youth. I will urge children of all ages and each and every school throughout the sub-continent to take up the cause of Nasha-Mukt Viksit Bharat and cycle for health and obesity-free India,” Mandaviya said.
