Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya’s Fit India Chennai Cycling Rally Cancelled Amid India-Pakistan Tensions

Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya’s Fit India cycling rally in Chennai has been cancelled on Friday due to rising tensions between India and Pakistan.

The event, in which Mandaviya was supposed to participate, was scheduled to cover historic areas of Chennai, starting and concluding at the iconic War Memorial, traversing the Napier Bridge, and following the Marina Beach coastline.

India's 1980 Olympic gold medal-winning hockey team captain, V Baskaran, was supposed to flag off the ceremony.

Earlier, this year, Mandaviya said to make the Fit India Movement, launched on August 29, 2019, a success, the people must include regular exercise and cycling in our daily routine. He emphasised that cycling not only promotes fitness but also helps in preserving the environment.

However, the Chennai event has been cancelled after Pakistan launched drone and missile attacks on India's northern and western border areas, particularly Adhampur, Bathinda, and Chandigarh. However, India’s robust air defence system foiled those attempts to dismantle peace and stability in the region.

India, on Wednesday, destroyed nine terror camps with precise attacks in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22 that left 26 civilians dead, including a Nepali citizen.

India targeted key terrorist hubs, including Bahawalpur - a known Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) stronghold - and Muridke, the base of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), among others. Among the notorious terrorists killed by the Indian strike was Abdul Rauf Azhar, the mastermind behind the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in 1999 and the kidnapping and killing of American journalist Daniel Pearl. India, meanwhile, neutralised Lahore’s air defence system.

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