Indian Army jawan embarks on 2800-km journey on foot to raise COVID-19 vaccine awareness

Despite the country crossing the 1-billion-mark in COVID-19 vaccinations recently, there are people who are still scared of getting inoculated. So, to create awareness about vaccination and the measures attached to it, an army jawan has begun a journey from Tamil Nadu’s Rameshwaram town to Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya city, surprisingly, by foot. The jawan has been identified as Balamurugan who began his 2,800-km-long journey on 16 October to create awareness about COVID vaccines. Balamurugan, who had joined the army in 2008, was also seen carrying flags of 197 countries in a cart throughout the journey, as per Times Now. Along with creating awareness about the vaccination process and drive, Balamurugan is also paying tribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief ministers of all the states, medical teams including doctors, healthcare workers, and others who are tirelessly working to curb the spread of the virus. Furthermore, Balamurugan plans to complete his journey in around three months by covering approximately 30 km per day. Among the many states, West Bengal, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh have emerged as the top five states in administering the highest number of doses. However, the army jawan’s inspiring story is not the first case where people have walked the extra mile to spread or create awareness about any important issue. A few weeks back, an 11-year-old boy embarked on a 320-km journey on foot to support a carbon tax petition. The young lad took up the task of walking during his summer holidays to spread alertness about climate change among people. He planned to cover the distance in 20 days to support a petition calling for a nationwide carbon tax, which was part of the #PriceOutPollution campaign. Earlier this year in April, a 33-year-old man walked 600 km for charity by just wearing a bear suit all the time. By the end of the walk, he had raised $7,100 for charity, Reuters reported. Keywords: Army jawan, vaccination drive, COVID-19 vaccine, Rameshwaram Uttar Pradesh, Ayodhya, Balamurugan, viral news