Arunachal Pradesh CM goes on a motorcycle ride to promote tourism

It is not common for chief ministers to ditch their official vehicles and ride a motorcycle. But that’s what Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu did on Sunday.

The 40-year-old rode a motorcycle for 122 km from Yingkiong, the headquarters of Upper Siang district, to Pasighat, the headquarters of East Siang district to push his state as a top tourist destination for biking and adventure sports.

Khandu began his ride from the circuit house in Yingkiong at 8:00 am and reached the airport at Pasighat two and half hours later.

“The attempt was towards promoting Arunachal as a dream destination for biking and adventure sports. The route offers best picturesque views of the Siang valley and villages of Adi tribes,” Khandu tweeted.

Arunachal Pradesh remains largely unexplored and the state government has been trying to boost tourism.

The chief minister also uploaded a video of his ride on his Twitter handle which shows him riding solo with his security detail following him in SUVs.

The young CM who returned to power earlier this year is a fitness enthusiast. And so is Union minister for sports Kiren Rijiju, who is a Lok Sabha MP from the state.

In November 2018, both Khandu and Rijiju had undertaken a 10 km cycle ride along with Bollywood actor and tourism brand ambassador for Arunachal Pradesh, Salman Khan, as part of the Mechuka Adventure Festival.