on march 13 delhis jawaharlal nehru stadium was abuzz with activity at as early as 5am when more than 300 cyclists across different age groups gathered to be a part of the hsbc go green cyclothon an initiative of the times of india this enthusiastic lot were on a mission to not just spread awareness about the health benefits of cycling but also to promote the use of the bicycle as the best means of transport for an environmentally safe and zeropollution delhi congratulationsyou have successfully cast your votelogin to view result the cyclothon was a joint initiative of the times of india and hsbc both thought leaders in the space of environment and sustainability it was also a first of its kind cycling event aimed at encouraging people to cycle more frequently to make delhi cleaner and greener the event followed an 8 km long route where participants took a different number of laps based on the category they were in for a city like delhi that is in dire need of its citizens to come together and adopt cleaner sustainable mobility options the cyclothon was a landmark event that grabbed eyeballs and started a crucial conversation the event that took place on a sunday began with the sound of cycle bells as pedallers woke up early and thronged the stadium to letdelhibreathe from kids aged 1218 years old to adults and professional cyclists on both regular cycles and ecycles the cyclothon saw immense participation the first flag off was done at around 7am by btown actress sonali bendre boat cofounder aman gupta head wealth and personal banking hsbc india ranganath ananth and radio mirchis very own rj naved it was further followed by flagoffs for the remaining 3 categories of the cyclothon by other dignitaries such as jagdish mitra chief strategy officer and head of growth tech mahindra amit jain head of marketing and corporate communications volvo cars india dibirath sen md global banking hsbc indiaand jaswinder sodhi head customers digital and marketing hsbc india to further amp up the excitement meter at the event sonali bendre aman gupta and rj naved along with the dignitaries also became a part of the cyclothon and pedalled inside the stadium to support the cause for a greener and environmentally safer delhi sonali bendre who is an avid health buff and often talks about the need to be physically active on her social handles says i think we have been very uncaring and careless in handling our planet its high time we come together to save the planet for future generations cycling is not only helpful in maintaining fitness but also curbs pollution ecycles are also a great option boat cofounder and shark tank fame aman gupta added youths today are very health conscious its very important to ensure that the city breathes now that cycles are back in fashion we need separate lanes for cycles so that people can go to their offices on them apart from giving cyclists