MA Jothimurugan on his bike in Patna on Tuesday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

M.A. Jothimurugan (40) is a man on a mission — biking around the country to create awareness on AIDS.

After kickstarting his campaign, called All India Motor Cycle Rally, in Puducherry on June 1, he has covered 2,091km to reach Patna as part of his awareness expedition.

Since Sunday, he has been talking to people and visiting educational institutions across the city to spread awareness on the disease.

Jothimurugan said: “I distributed pamphlets in Purnea to create awareness on AIDS. Everyday, Indian culture is being blemished in public. There was a time when our culture was admired in foreign countries. These days, Indians have started aping the foreigners.”

His efforts have taken him to cities like Chennai, Ongalur Bhubaneswar, Calcutta, Darjeeling, Guwahati, Shillong, Agartala, Imphal, Purnea and, now, Patna. He will cover nearly 12,000km across the country before winding up the tour. He has already covered more than 8,000km and visited Purnea, before entering the capital on Sunday. From Patna, he would go on to visit Varanasi, Lucknow, Agra, Delhi, Jaipur, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari and a few other places. The rally will end in Puducherry on September 1.

Jothimurugan has already created a record and has his name figures in the Limca Book of Records for a non-stop cycle rally in 2001.

A government employee at the civil supply co-operative in Puducherry, he has been associated with social work for the past 20 years. He joined Bharat Scouts and Guides as a student.

In 2011, Jothimurugan stood on one leg for 72 hours at a stretch in Puducherry to raise funds for a woman suffering from cancer. He had collected Rs 47,000. In 2007, he crawled from Karikal to Puducherry to create awareness on polio and collected Rs 1 lakh during the drive.

Jothimurugan said: “I made it to the Limca Book of Records by covering approximately 960km during a non-stop cycle rally against terrorism from Puducherry to Coimbatore , Madurai, Trichi and back.” The rally was organised from December 27, 2001, to December 29, 2001.

The rally has been organised by Jothimurugan and jointly sponsored by Puducherry AIDS Control Society and Rotary Club of Puducherry Elites.