Jayant Kumar Bhuyan, an international chess arbiter, walked 50km to spread awareness about Covid-19 and also thanked doctors and nurses for their relentless effort during the pandemic.

Bhuyan, 58, a Jamshedpur resident, started his walk from near the JRD Tata Sports Complex at 7am on Monday and walked till Rargaon, a village along the NH 33. He visited 10 villages along the way to tell rurals about the importance of wearing masks, using sanitisers and maintaining social distance. He also distributed 100 masks among the villagers.

He was seen-off by Jharkhand highest blood donor (158 times) Surendra Kumar Jha and FIDE (Federation International des Echecs) arbiter Chandan Kumar Prasad. Bhuyan reached his destination at about 3pm and returned to the steel city by bus.

"It was a tiring journey to say the least. The heat was unbearable but I continued walking since I thought my effort stands nowhere in comparison to the tireless job done by our doctors and nurses who put their lives at risk while treating Covid patients," Bhuyan, chief coach at Tata Chess Centre said.

According to him, it is one year since his mother passed away due to Covid after undergoing treatment at Tata Main Hospital for 20 days. "I have seen the doctors and nurses operating at the hospital. They tried their best to save my mother but their effort proved futile. Now the doctors are talking about the third wave and ready to take risks yet again," Bhuyan, who loves trekking, added.

He thanked Tata Steel sports wing for giving him an opportunity to work at the Covid testing testing centre at JRD Tata Sports Complex. "I got motivated during my stint at the testing centre. I request the state government to please declare those who have died due to the virus as Covid warriors since doctors and society have learnt a lot because of their demise," Bhuyan signed off.