Visakhapatnam engineer completes half marathon to promote soil health

Subramanya Sharma Challa, a 58-year-old chartered civil engineer from Visakhapatnam, completed the 21.1-kilometre Vizag Half Marathon on Sunday as part of a campaign to raise awareness about soil health. Sharma carried a Save Soil flag during the run along Visakhapatnam’s coastline. He said he began running about four-and-a-half years ago as part of Sadhguru’s Save Soil movement.

According to Sharma, he has covered 7,642 kilometres while carrying the flag through cities including Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Kakinada, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Goa and Bhubaneswar. He said he planned to continue taking part in running events to promote discussion about soil protection and regeneration. Sharma said public attention often focused on air and water pollution, while the condition of soil received less discussion.

He argued that soil beneath people’s feet also required greater awareness and protection. The Save Soil movement says it aims to raise awareness about soil degradation and encourage government policies and agricultural practices that improve soil health. The supplied material does not provide details of any specific policy proposal connected to Sharma’s campaign.

His participation in the Vizag event combined a sporting activity with a public-awareness effort. The 21.1-kilometre distance was the standard half-marathon distance, and the event took place in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. Sharma’s campaign has involved carrying the flag across multiple cities rather than limiting the message to a single event.

He said he would continue using running events to discuss the need to protect and regenerate soil, though no timetable for future runs was provided.