“Tamil Nadu is the 29th state I’m visiting. I’ve been driving through the country for around 183 days and have covered 41,000 km,” says Sangeetha Sridhar, rattling off numbers when asked about her journey.

An NRI from UAE, Ms. Sangeetha, who originally hails from Coimbatore, has been driving through the country in her modified Tata Hexa for her initiative – ‘Clean India Trail’.

“I wished to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE and the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and undertake this trip as a goodwill journey. Gandhiji always dreamt of a clean and safe India for women and I planned this trip systematically to show that this doesn’t have to be a faraway dream,” she says.

Ms. Sangeetha began her trip from Mumbai on August 12 and has been travelling solo since then, visiting over 290 cities. Her travels, she says, have taught her self-reliance and sustainability while allowing her to soak in different cultures and have engaging conversations with interesting people.

Sanitation audit

“Through this journey, I’ve been auditing the condition of sanitation facilities available and creating awareness about the Swachh Bharat Mission. I drive a vehicle that is made in India and only use products and technology that are home-grown,” she says. Her car is fitted with solar panels and the middle seat has been removed to ensure that she can sleep inside. “At night, I ensure that I find a safe place to park my vehicle – either inside the compound of a residential complex or a police station. I sleep inside the vehicle and use the public sanitation facilities available,” she says.

Ms. Sangeetha has also been engaging with nearly 59 signature industries across the States she has travelled through and has also visited various heritage sites. Collaborating with a start-up, she explains that all the information she collects are documented on an app in her phone. “For my audit of the sanitation facilities, the app provides me with a log and I also can record voice notes which will be location-tagged so that I can go back to them later,” she says.

With her website www.cleanindiatrail.com detailing her travels, Ms. Sangeetha says that the results of her audit will be handed over to the United Nations Sustainable Development Board and the Ministry of Tourism. “People everywhere have been extremely welcoming. For women who wish to travel and go on long solo road trips, it is extremely important to prepare physically and mentally. Plan your milestones clearly so that you know what it is that you want to see and it is imperative to study everything along your route,” she adds.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by S. Poorvaja / Chennai – March 02nd, 2019