Bandipora, Oct 4: Thousands of runners converged on the banks of Wular Lake in north Kashmir’s Bandipora on Sunday for an ultra-marathon aimed at promoting environmental conservation and youth fitness.
The BSF Wular Ultra Run, organised alongside the Krish Fitness Academy, featured races of up to 50 kilometres. The route stretched from the Border Security Force headquarters at Maddar to NHPC Pethkote, looping back via the Wular Vantage Road.
Approximately 200 women were among the participants competing for a share of a Rs 25 lakh prize pool.
Inspector General of the BSF Kashmir Frontier, Ashok Yadav, flagged off the event.
He noted strong participation from border villages including Gurez, Tangdhar and Uri, with children as young as 10 taking part in the 5-kilometre category.
“We have been organising this Wular marathon for the past three years for a message,” Yadav said. “One is the protection and cleanliness of Wular Lake to keep our environment beautiful. We want to encourage the youth of Jammu and Kashmir towards health, fitness and programmes like Khelo India.”
He added that the run builds crucial civil-military ties, as the border population “is an integral part of a border security grid.”
The event’s standout moment of endurance came from Lieutenant Colonel Avinash Bajpai, an amputee Army officer posted with the 15 Corps at Badami Bagh Cantonment, who completed the 25-kilometre course on a prosthetic leg.
Bajpai lost his limb to a grenade explosion during a unit training exercise in 2011.
“The Army provided a prosthetic leg, so my duty is continuing well,” he said.
Despite carrying a minor injury, Bajpai pushed beyond his initial target for the race.
“Last year I also did Wular, 21 kilometres,” he said. “This time I had a slight injury, so I was supposed to do 10, but a call came from the BSF Commandant asking if I was coming. So then I did 25. I pushed myself, and somehow managed to finish it.”
A veteran of more than 25 marathons, Bajpai spoke frankly about the hidden toll of distance running.
“My courage wavers too, it hurts, there is a lot of struggle and pain that people do not see inside and outside the house,” he said.
“When your heart breaks, think that if you do not have one hand, there are people who do not have both hands. If someone is worse off than you, just think about that and move forward.”
To manage the heavy turnout, Traffic Police Rural Kashmir shut down vehicular movement on the Wular Vantage Road between 5 am and 2 pm.
Srinagar-bound traffic from Gurez and Bandipora was diverted via the Bandipora-Sopore route.
Vehicles travelling towards Bandipora from Srinagar and Ganderbal were rerouted through Pattan, Sumbal, Naidkhai and Sopore to keep the race corridor clear.
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