Pratapgarh (UP), Apr 25 (IANS): A ten-kilometre journey has been his ticket to fame and Vinay Kumar is now being hailed as a hero in his Bojhi village in Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh.

Vinay Kumar, along with his friends, took his baraat to Rajgarh village on Friday.

What made the 'baraat' different was the fact that all 'baraatis' went on cycle, wore face shields and face masks.

"I wanted to give a clear message that social distancing is important. This would not have been possible in a car or bus so we cycled to the bride's house. This is my way of fighting against the second wave of Corona," he said.

Vinay works in a private factory in Pratapgarh and actively participates in environment awareness campaigns.

When the groom reached the bride's village on the bicycle along with the limited 'baraatis', the local people praised him instead of ridiculing him. Locals were also seen clicking photographs and shooting videos of the unique 'baraat'.

Vinay's family members said, they took the decision to check unnecessary expenses during the pandemic and create awareness about environment conservation. They invited limited number of guests to adhere to social distancing.

Ajay Krantikari, head of Paryawaran Sena, an organization working for environment protection, said, "We have been constantly promoting the concept of 'green weddings' in villages, blocks and cities across the country. In the Corona wave, a limited number of 'baraatis' peddled from one village to another to spread the message of social distancing and wearing of masks."

All the baraatis were wearing masks and maintaining adequate distance from each other while cycling from Bojhi village to Rajgarh.

In fact, it was Krantikari, who convinced Vinay and his family members to ride a bicycle to the bride's home.

Krantikari said that more and more people are joining the Harit Vivah campaign across the state.