By IANS
Hyderabad : The 100-day countdown to the fourth Military World Games (MWG) began here Sunday with the launching of Greening India campaign and flagging-off of two car rallies to promote the October 14-21 event.
Minister of State for Defence Pallam Raju flagged off "Chalo Hyderabad" rally at Gacchibowli Stadium here, while a similar rally started from Thiruvananthapuram, heading for the Andhra Pradesh capital.
The minister along with Army chief General J.J. Singh and Navy chief Admiral Suresh Mehta also launched the Greening India campaign to plant a million saplings across India and also unveiled the medals to be presented at MWG 2007.
The colourful rally, comprising dozens of military vehicles, buses, cars and two-wheelers, will pass through 21 districts of Andhra Pradesh and cover a distance of 1,800 km before returning to Hyderabad on July 23.
The Thiruvananthapuram rally, flagged off by Kerala Sports, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Vijaya Kuman, will join the Hyderabad rally at Kadappa on July 11 for the final leg.
Ten teams of the armed forces, coordinated by Maj. Vivek Garg of 14 Assam, started from Thiruvananthapuram and will cover a distance of 3,500 km over 18 days passing through Kochi, Thrissur, Coimbatore, Salem, Bangalore, and Chittoor before the finish at Hyderabad.
The rallies are aimed at generating public interest in the military games, interacting with ex-servicemen and families of serving soldiers of the southern states, encouraging sports in the region and spreading the MWG theme "Friendship through Sports" to all corners.
The event also has had a touch of glamour as 11 participants of the Indian Idol contest of Sony Television entertained the audience. The official song composed by rock band Aryans was also played.
So far 78 countries, including US and China, and 5,000 sportspersons have confirmed their participation in MWG 2007 with more expected before the closing date of August 15.
"Pakistan is yet to confirm its participation and we hope that the country will also be part of the games," Raju told reporters here.
The minister said India was proud to host the military games, being held outside Europe for the first time.
He said the defence ministry was providing Rs. 1.27 billion for eight-day event. The Andhra Pradesh government will also spend around Rs. 400 million on infrastructure and other arrangements.
Replying to a question, General J.J. Singh hoped that the Indian armed forces would perform well and win a "reasonable number of medals".
The Military World Games – a multi-discipline event – are organised every four years by the International Council of Military Sports (CISM), a grouping of armed forces from 128 nations.
The first MWG were held in 1995 at Rome with subsequent editions at Zagreb, Croatia (1999) and Catania, Italy (2003).
More than 100 countries are expected to participate in MWG 2007, next only to the Olympics in terms of size and participation.
Nearly 8,000 athletes are expected to take part in 14 sports disciplines. All events will be held in around Hyderabad except sailing and triathlon, which will be held at Mumbai.