Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Sadhguru sets off on 30,000-km Save Soil road trip from London

Sadhguru sets off on 30,000-km Save Soil road trip from London

LONDON'S Parliament Square was the flag-off point for Indian spiritual leader Sadhguru's 30,000-km motorbike tour on Monday (21), as he set off on his Save Soil awareness campaign across Europe and the Middle East en route to India.

The yoga guru, 64, donned his biking gear for the 100-day tour, which will take him to Amsterdam, Berlin and Prague this week.

After a series of events scheduled in key cities along the way, he is aiming for a homecoming in New Delhi in 75 days in honour of India's 75th year of independence.

“It's extremely important that we act now. I've been talking about this for over 24 years, but a solution can only happen when there is a positive policy in every nation,” Sadhguru told reporters at the Indian High Commission in London before setting off on his bike tour.

“It is still snowing in many parts of Europe and we'll be going through that on a two-wheeler. At this age, it's not really a joy ride. So why am I doing this? Because over 300,000 farmers have committed suicide in the last 20 years. Not just in India, across the world this is happening… one of the main concerns is soil depletion,” he said.

The Save Soil Movement, launched as part of the spiritual leader's Conscious Planet initiative, is aimed at turning the world's attention towards dying soil and growing desertification.

The focus is on getting countries to institute national policies towards increasing the organic content in cultivable soil.

“Whether on the cricket field or on the field of life, if we are to play well, the soil has to be well. Time to come together and turn things around. Let's make it happen,” he said, during a visit to the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground for interaction with Middlesex Cricket Club (MCC) as part of the UK leg of his tour.

The campaign, which is backed by the World Food Programme and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, calls on policy-makers around the world to make soil regeneration a priority.

“No matter how much wealth, education, and money we have, our children cannot live well unless we restore the soil and water. Conscious Planet is the only way forward,” Sadhguru, whose full name is Jagadish Vasudev, said at the University of Birmingham last week.

His lone motorbike journey ends in time for the Summer Solstice on June 21 at the Cauvery Calling project, which is enabling the planting of 2.42 billion trees in private farmlands in the Cauvery river basin in south India to restore the severely depleted river and revitalise the soil.

According to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), more than 90 per cent of the earth's soil could become degraded by 2050, leading to catastrophic crises worldwide including food and water shortages, droughts and famines, adverse climate changes, mass migrations and unprecedented rates of species extinction.

The Save Soil campaign aims to inspire at least 3.5 billion people, or 60 per cent of the world's electorate, to support long-term government policies to revitalise the soil and reverse its depletion.

(PTI)

More For You

London Marathon

This year’s marathon will see a record 56,000 participants

Getty

London Marathon Ballot opens with record 840,000 applicants for 2025 race

The ballot for the 2026 TCS London Marathon has officially opened, just days ahead of this year’s race on Sunday, 23 April 2025.

This year’s event will mark the 45th edition of the London Marathon, which first launched in 1981. The race continues to break records, with a staggering 840,000 people entering the ballot for 2025, making it the most popular marathon worldwide.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Post Office spent £600m to keep Horizon despite plans to replace it: Report

THE POST OFFICE has spent more than £600 million of public funds to continue using the Horizon IT system, according to a news report.

Despite deciding over a decade ago to move away from the software, the original 1999 contract with Fujitsu prevented the Post Office from doing so, as it did not own the core software code, a BBC investigation shows.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

The prayer meet was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

Mahesh Liloriya

A PRAYER meet was held at the Gandhi Hall in the High Commission of India in London on Thursday (24) to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ rang out at the event which was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK  mini heatwave

Sunny conditions will bring early summer warmth

Getty

UK to see mini heatwave as temperatures climb towards 24 °c

The UK is set for a period of warmer weather in the coming days, with temperatures expected to rise significantly across parts of the country. According to the Met Office, a spell of dry and sunny conditions will bring early summer warmth, although it will fall short of the threshold for an official heatwave.

Temperatures in south-eastern and central England could reach 23°c to 24°c by Tuesday, around 10C above the seasonal average for some areas. The Met Office described this as a “very warm spell” rather than a heatwave, though the contrast with recent cooler weather will be noticeable.

Keep ReadingShow less
indian-army-reuters

Indian security force personnel stand guard at the site of the attack on tourists in Baisaran near Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, April 24, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Indian and Pakistani troops exchange fire along Line of Control

INDIAN and Pakistani troops exchanged fire overnight along the Line of Control in Kashmir, officials from both sides said on Friday.

The exchange took place days after a deadly attack in the region and amid calls from the United Nations for both countries to show "maximum restraint".

Keep ReadingShow less