Bhubaneswar: Jayant Mahajan, an Associate Professor at Christ University in Pune in the state of Maharashtra, is earning praises in Odisha for cycling a long distance from Gujarat for 'Climate Change'.

The professor, who has been teaching business administration, started his journey on cycle from Nadabet, near the Indo-Pak border in Gujarat, on January 23.

"My attempt is to connect with people and raise awareness on climate change. I am pedaling to spread the message 'I have to change before the climate changes'. People should focus on less use of plastic and more use of public transport services to make like more sustainable," said Mahajan after reaching Bhubaneswar yesterday.

He arrived at Odisha capital yesterday covering the entire coast of Gujarat, Konkan, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh. He entered Odisha through Nabarangpur. He covered a 5,500 km distance so far in the last five months.

"I will advance towards Kolkata via Cuttack and Balasore. I need to cover remaining 14,500 km to spread my message on climate change. This is completely a solo trip and self-funded activity. Some NGOs like Thiruvananthapuram-based Save Wetlands international movement are supporting my noble cause," he said.

Mahajan reached Cuttack today where he spent a few hours and shared his experience through a reel on Facebook.

"On the 128th day of my 20,000 km cycling journey on climate change, I am at Cuttack today. I had a wonderful time in Bhubaneswar," he said.

The professor will leave for Balasore, the central point between Bhubaneswar and Kolkata, and will try to visit DRDO missile testing centre and Chandipur beach all along his way in Odisha.