First India-Nepal friendship motor rally flagged off in Bhubaneswar

The first India-Nepal friendship motor rally was flagged off from Bhubaneswar, Odisha, on Saturday.

The rally, which will cover 3060 kilometres across India and Nepal over a period of 10 days, was flagged off by Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik. As many as 30 teams are participating in the event set to conclude in New Delhi on March 8.

Rally Director Praveen Bhanjdeo said the rally sought to forge a religious connect with the neighbouring country of Nepal.

"This rally is being flagged off from Odisha for the first time. Never before a convoy rally like this, commemorating Indo-Nepal relations, has been organised here. This rally is a friendship rally and it will establish a religious connection from Puri to Pashupati," said Bhanjdeo.

Both Puri in India and Pashupati in Nepal hold immense religious importance. Puri is regarded as the holy land of lord Jagannath while Pashupati houses the Pashupathinath Temple, a very popular pilgrimage site.

The rally will trace the journey of Lord Buddha, passing through cities of Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Patna in India and Lumbini, the birth place of Buddha, in Nepal.

"This rally has been organised for two reasons- firstly, to strengthen the bond of friendship between India and Nepal and secondly, to promote road safety. Accidents caused due to flouting of rule are very common in India, so through this rally we also want to promote the idea of safe driving," said a participant, Arun Bhatia.

The organisers hope that this car rally will provide an impetus to spiritual and adventure tourism in both the countries.

India has always shared good ties with Nepal. The Himalayan nation was among some of the first countries that were toured by Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Modi had also visited the Pashupatinath Temple in capital Kathmandu.