India
First ever autorickshaw challenge rally in Chennai
Chennai | August 27, 2006 3:19:48 PM IST
The Auto Rickshaw Challenge-2006 rally, a first-ever of such kind in India, commenced recently in Chennai. Besides the participants from different parts of the country, it also has many international participants. On the first day, at the Beasant Nagar beach, about 50 participants from various parts of the world delighted hundreds of sports lovers who gathered to watch the gala event. Ramkumaran, the son of the famous thespian late Shivaji Ganesan, flagged-off the rally at Beasant Nagar beach. Participants from America, England, Hungary, Russia and other countries were very excited while participating in the competition being held in India. The winner team will be declared world champion. "I have been to Chennai and Madurai ten years ago. India is a beautiful country. It is going to be a long drive. I am excited since I am the only single woman participant here. It would be a crazy act. Let us see what happens," said Thesaly Chance Tracy, a participant from the United States. Tracy had driven the auto individually along the East Coast road. Set out on a seven days journey, the 16 participating autos were customised for the journey with shimmering lights and their bodies painted in vibrant tones. Sixteen teams are participating in this year's event of which 13 are international drivers. Out of the 50 participants, eight are women. One of the women participants is Thesaly Chance Tracy belong to the Untied States of America. One of the objectives of conducting such an event is to spread awareness about the need to ight against child abuse, including the use of underage children for labour and pressing the rights of children. Organised by the team, which earlier hosted the first annual Budapest Bamako rally an 8000 km race from the heart of the central Europe to the heart of west Africana, the Indian auto rickshaw challenge (ARC) promises to be a milestone in the global adventure tourism. "It is not a test of speed. We are not going to see the time taken by participants, distance measured or speed maintained. The Rally has no prize. It is a fun drive and people will come to know more about Tamil Nadu while they will be driving. Participants will enjoy places, people, and weather. We have advised participants to visit various interesting places. We will take feed back from them," said Ejji, the organiser of Indian Auto Rickshaw Challenge - 2006.The 1,000 kilometres long auto- rally is scheduled to reach Kannayakumari on Monday (August 28) via Mahabalipuram, Tanjore and Ramanathapuram. (ANI)
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