World kidney day: A unique cyclothon in shape of a kidney covering 10 Manipal Hospitals in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Dr. H. Sudarshan Ballal flagged off the cyclothon event to spread awareness of kidney health and access to our health care service

Kidney disease is a silent killer and the need of the hour is to create awareness about kidney health across the country. As a leading healthcare provider in Bengaluru, ten centers of Manipal Hospitals joined their hands together to form a unique cyclothon in the shape of a kidney.

Speaking on the initiative, Dr. H. Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman, Manipal Hospitals said, ”Maintaining kidney health is critical to the overall health and well-being of everyone. This World Kidney Day, I was delighted to be a part of the cyclothon that connoted the essence of kidney care. The kidney-shaped cyclothon was a unique concept that marked the milestone achieved by Manipal Hospitals for preventive interventions and enhanced accessibility for kidney care. Improved accessibility can help avoid the onset and progression of kidney diseases. I would like to urge people to seek medical help at an early stage. An ounce of prevention is better than a ton of cure.”

The cyclist from various parts of Bengaluru joined their hands together to make this program a grand success. The participants of cyclothon were from Bengaluru Cycle Network, Bengaluru Cycling Club, Life is calling sports, Ullala Cyclists United, Pedal Pushers, Cycle World, Jayanagar Jaguars, Cisco cyclers, Go-green cycling, high on wheels, Bengaluru Roadsters, and a few solo riders.

We witnessed active participation from employees, successful post kidney transplant patients, to the doctors of Manipal Hospitals present in the cyclothon event. The flag-off took place at Manipal Hospital Old Airport Road at 7:00 Am on 6th March, Sunday by the Chairman of Manipal Hospitals, Dr. H. Sudarshan Ballal. The flag off in each unit joining cyclothon was done by the respective Hospital Directors and the team of doctors, Dr. Manish, Dr. Vasudha Shetty, Hospital director & COO, Manipal Hospital Miller’s Road, Mr. Pramod Kunder, Hospital Director, Manipal Hospital Malleshwaram, Mr. Arnab Mondal, Hospital Director, Manipal Hospital Whitefield, Dr. Chaitanya Pathania, Hospital Director, Manipal Hospital Varthur Road, Col Rahul Tewari, Hospital Director, Manipal Hospital Yeshwanthpur, Mr. Arun S H, Hospital Director, Manipal Hospital Hebbal, Dr. Suja V, Hospital Director, Manipal Hospital Sarjapur; Mr. Mohan Hariharan, Hospital Director, Manipal Hospital Jayanagar; and other medical and non-medical team members.

Around 330 plus cyclists, along with doctors, patients, and employees from Manipal Hospital, Old Airport Road sportively peddled the cycle and diverged into two loops at the time of flag off. Every participant from the other centers of Manipal Hospitals enthusiastically joined the two-loop respectively to create a kidney shape through peddling.

The approximate distance covered was 100 km in a span of 2 to 3 hours.

Through this creative act, they conveyed the accessibility of hospitals along with the awareness of kidney health. The entire event was live-streamed on the social media page of Manipal Hospitals, with GPS trackers installed to track the movement of cyclists.

The route was designed to touch each unit of Manipal Hospitals in Bengaluru, creating a lifesaving bean shape of a kidney and was visible on the Google map.