Mancherial animal lover sets out on another marathon cycling across 17 Shakti Peethams

Mancherial animal lover Padma Sandesh Gupta has embarked on a 20,000-km expedition covering 17 Shakti Peethas across India. The journey aims to raise awareness among motorists about animal deaths on highways, continuing his previous long-distance rides for the same cause

Mancherial: Padma Sandesh Gupta, a passionate animal lover from Mancherial town, has embarked on another marathon expedition to 17 Shakti Peethas, or sacred shrines dedicated to the Shakti deity, located in different parts of the country, covering nearly 20,000 km over the course of a year.

He set out on this novel journey with the sole objective of spreading awareness among motorists about the alarming number of animal deaths on national highways after offering prayers at a temple here on Sunday.

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As per his itinerary, Sandesh will initially visit Sri Jogulamba Devi Devasthanam at Alampur in Jogulamba Gadwal district before seeking the darshan of the presiding deity at Sri Bhramaramba Devi temple in Srisailam. He will then cover temples such as Sri Puruhutika Devi at Pithapuram and Sri Manikyamba Devi at Draksharamam in Andhra Pradesh.

The other Shakti Peethas to be visited by the cyclist include Sri Kamakshi Devi in Kanchipuram; Shri Chamundeshwari Devi in Mysuru, Karnataka; Shri Mahalaxmi Devi at Kolhapur and Sri Ekaveera Devi in Mahur, Maharashtra; Sri Mahakali Devi in Ujjain; Sri Girija Devi in Jajpur, Odisha; Shrinkhala Devi in Pradyumnapur, West Bengal; Sri Sarvamangala Devi in Gaya, Bihar; Shri Madhaveshwari in Prayagraj; Shri Vishalakshi in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh; Sri Kamakhya Devi in Guwahati, Assam; Shri Vaishnavi Devi and Shri Saraswathi Devi in Kashmir.

This is not Sandesh’s first endeavour. In 2022, he successfully completed a 14,000-km expedition across nine Jyotirlingas, or popular abodes of Lord Shiva, located in 13 states for the same cause, covering the distance in 200 days. In 2023, he biked from Mancherial to Srisailam for the same cause, travelling a distance of 1,100 km in a fortnight.

In 2021, he undertook two major rides — a 2,500-km journey from Mancherial to Varanasi and a 4,000-km journey between Mancherial and Rameshwaram — both dedicated to the same cause of preventing animal deaths on highways.

Family members and friends said Sandesh’s latest journey, spanning temples across multiple states, underscores his commitment to both spiritual devotion and animal conservation.