KPCC prez gears up for Mekedatu yatra with walking sessions

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Ahead of the Congress padayatra from Ramnagar to Bengaluru seeking construction of a balancing reservoir at Mekedatu in Kanakapura taluk of Ramanagar district, KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar has started walking sessions to make sure he completes the padayatra.

Of the total 165 km from Sangama upto National College Grounds in Bengaluru city, Congress leaders have already covered around 100 km. The remaining 60-65 km must be covered in five days. To keep himself fit, Shivakumar had engaged in rigorous walking exercises at Sankey Tank in Bengaluru over a month ago. He would walk around 7-8km daily to keep himself fit.

However, the padayatra, after reaching Ramanagar city, was suspended temporarily due to the outbreak of the third wave of the pandemic. Following a drastic reduction in Corona positive cases, the Congress plans to resume the padayatra from February 27.

Other Congress leaders too are said to be making preparations for the ‘Namma neeru, namma hakku’ padayatra which will passing through JD(S) strongholds. It is not known if leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah is aiming to complete the padayatra as he had stopped twice in the first round due to age related issues.