NEW DELHI  – A 20-day inter-country motor car rally commemorating the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and marking the 30th National Road Safety Week begins here tomorrow.

Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will jointly flag off the motor car rally at Gandhi Smriti and DarshanSamiti, Rajghat here.

Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping, Chemical and Fertilizer Mansukh L Mandavia will also be present on the occasion.

The rally will travel through places historically associated with Gandhiji, both in India, as well as in Bangladesh and Myanmar, official sources said here today.

It will pass through Sabarmati, Porbandar, Dandi, Yerwada, Sewagram, Jabalpur, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, ChauriChaura, Champaran, Shantiniketan and Kolkata in India before travelling to Dhaka in Bangladesh.

The rally will conclude at Yangon in Myanmar on February 24, covering a total distance of 7250 km.

The rally is part of the year-long celebrations to commemorate the 150th year of Mahatma Gandhi in India and across the globe, initiated by Indian government on October 2, last year.

It (rally) will take up advocacy on road safety concerns along the route, sources said, adding that tomorrow’s event will also see the launch of Dash Board for Road Accident Data of India and its states.

The Society of Indian Automobile Industry will also declare 2019 as the Year of Road Safety on the occasion to underline its commitment and support for promoting safety on Indian roads.

The occasion will also see initiatives being taken to involve people in promoting the cause of road safety.

The Indian Road Safety Campaign of IIT Delhi will launch an Inter Collegiate competition on the issue. In addition to this, letters will be issued to 135 NGOs for conducting road safety programmes.

Besides, various programmes will be held during the Road Safety Week, including seminars and workshops on Emerging Trends in Safety, Road Safety Engineering, Motor Vehicle Insurance and Emergency care for generating awareness and sensitizing people about safe road usage.