: In 490 B.C. an ancient Greek messenger had raced from Marathon to Athens, covering a distance of around 25 miles with the message of an important Greek Victory, from where modern day marathon got its inspiration. On Wednesday, a man with a ‘green’ message, ran from his residence in Sonada to the Sukhiapokari block office in Darjeeling, covering 21 km (the distance of half marathon) to file nomination for Panchayat elections.
36-year-old Saran Subba undertook a solo run from his residence located on DB Road, Lower Sonada to the Sukhiapokhari Block office, Darjeeling, 21km away to file nominations for the Panchayat elections. He will be contesting for a Gram Panchayat seat from ward 8, Lower Sonada as an independent. He started at 4 am on Tuesday and completed the 21 km nomination filing run in four hours, even before the office had opened for the nominations.
“I want to spread the message. People should indulge in walking and running like it was in our childhood in the Hills. The number of vehicles on the roads has increased the level of pollution to an alarming level. There are traffic snarls on the roads. I want to inspire people to walk or run,” stated Subba.
Subba does small scale businesses as a livelihood. He runs a physical training academy for youths. He trains police and army job aspirants free of cost. He lives with his mother, wife and a son. “I want good roads and less traffic. Till now in many places in the Hills there is no road connectivity and we use stretchers to carry patients manually to hospitals in case of medical emergencies. Traffic has to be regulated. It used to take 45 minutes to reach school in Darjeeling when I was a kid. The same journey takes 3 hours now during peak season,” complained Subba. He will address all these problems if voted to power.