Tata Institute of Social Sciences or TISS organized a WALKATHON in Assam to achieve a ‘Pedestrian friendly Guwahati’ City. The program was held on the 24th of February 2019 from 7 am onward at the Guahati University Campus. The TISS Walkathon was conducted in collaboration with the Earthful foundation as well as the Voice of Environment.

TISS Walkathon started from the Gauhati University main gate near Sundarbari via Assam Engineering College road and then headed toward Tetelia Road. It finally reached the Tata Institute Of Social Sciences Guwahati. Walkathon 2019 was open to all citizens of Guwahati irrespective of their age. Registered participants who completed their walk will receive Certificates from the Organizers on 27th Feb 2019 at TISS.

TISS Walkathon was led by TISS team coordinator Meenakshi Menon, volunteers and students. There were also representations from partner organizations such as as Environmentalist Moharana Choudhury and Bhaskar Hazarika from
Voice of Environment. A special message was given by Environmentalist Navneet Yadav(Member VoE) from New Delhi on “Clean and Plastic free Guwahati city.” Voice of Environment is working on Mission Clean, Green and Plastic Free India and Assam initiative emphasized by Environment Education.

Three participants were felicitated with awards for winning the TISS Walkathon. Several plant saplings were also distributed among the TISS Walkathon participants during the event at TISS Guwahati campus. The event was organized for the following goals and objectives:

● To address the cause of Pedestrian friendly Guwahati.
● In a city of increasing number of vehicles, pedestrian safety is paramount.
● Generate awareness and propagate about pedestrian friendly Guwahati.
● Create a change in this sector. There is a need to indirectly help to reduce pollution, congestion
as well as depletion of natural resources. This way, the people are able to create a road network which is not only for useful for vehicles but also forpedestrians and cyclists.

About Geetika Saluja

Geetika Saluja is a budding environmentalist, who is actively engaged in environmental studies and research. She is an alumni from Lucknow University, completing master's degree in Environmental Science. She has conducted case studies on different issues related to environment, climate, energy and remote sensing. She has been associated with Greenpeace International. Geetika Saluja has promoted environmental issues, campaigns and raising funds for them. She has conducted extensive studies on “Flood Inundation and Change Detection In 10 Km Buffer Along River Ganga In Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh. She is a Public Relationship Manager at Greenpeace International.