Patna: Bihar BJP president Nityanand Rai on Friday flagged off a car rally organised by the Buddha Organisation for Women Awareness and Rural Development to spread the word about the importance of women in the society.

A total of 30 teams, including 10 all-women ones, are taking part in the rally, which is in the time-speed-distance format. That means the participants are supposed to travel a particular distance at a particular speed in a given time. Over-speeding leads to deduction of points.

The rally participants will travel around 800km - from Patna to Ranchi via Gaya, Ramgarh and Hazaribagh and back by the same route on Saturday. The winners will be felicitated with trophies and cash awards at a function in Patna on February 3. The first prize is Rs 10,000, and the second and third place winners will be given Rs 7,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively, said rally coordinator Amrita Bhushan.

Addressing the participants before flagging off the rally, Rai said the event had been organised for a sacred cause of giving due place to women in the society and ensuring their equal participation in every walk of life.

Bhushan said that during the course of the rally the participants will stop at different points and spread awareness about women empowerment among the people.

"Moreover, all the participating cars are pasted with messages spreading awareness about women empowerment," she added.

Bhushan said a souvenir to spread awareness about the importance of women empowerment will be released at the award distribution function.