A traveler from India, Samrat Moulik, visited Astrakhan region

His expedition to our region was organized with the assistance of Foreign Affairs Agency of Astrakhan region. "Responsive, hospitable people live in Astrakhan, many of them try to maintain cleanliness on the banks of rivers, and the Volga is much cleaner compared to our Ganges," the guest shared his impressions with local journalists.

The thirst for cycling expeditions appeared in Samrat in 2003. Before that, he went hiking, climbed the mountains. But then, as he admits, he realized that the rivers and the surrounding nature are not in the best shape and decided to actively engage in environmental activities.

The purpose of Samrat Moulik's voyages is not just to see new places, but to draw public attention to environmental problems.

"While communicating with ordinary people, I urge them to protect nature, not to pollute rivers, because the existence of humanity directly depends on them," Samrat Moulik reflects on his mission.

Over the past eight years, Samrat Moulik has overcome 11 thousand kilometers on a bicycle. At home, he made a 104-day expedition extending over five thousand kilometers through the states of Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

One of the expeditions of Samrat Moulik was listed in the Book of Records of India as the longest single expedition on a bicycle, as he overcame a path of 3 thousand kilometers. In 38 days, he traveled from the source of the Ganges River in the city of Gangotri in the Indian state of Uttarakand to the city of Kuakata in the Republic of Bangladesh.

In 2021, an environmental activist is conducting a bicycle expedition in Russia along the great Russian Volga River. Its motto is: "Save the river – save the water." The traveler has already visited the Moscow region, then visited the cities of Samara, Saratov, Volgograd and arrived in Astrakhan. The final point of his first Russian route will be the source of the great Russian river on the Valdai Hills.

Upon arrival in the Astrakhan region, Samrat Moulik almost immediately went to the delta Ikryaninsky district, where the Ilmenno-Bugrovoy State Nature Reserve is located. On the trip, he was accompanied by the head of the Environmental Management and Environmental Protection Service of the region, Sergey Smirnov.

This morning, a guest from India got acquainted with the sights of Astrakhan, visited the Kremlin, the building of the former Indian farmstead.

"The Astrakhan region is a very special place. I would like to stay here as long as possible, it is a pity that I am limited in time by a visa," Samrat Moulik said.

The environmental activist said that in the future, when circumstances allow, he plans to study the Volga basin in more detail, visit not only regional centers, but also small towns and villages, communicate with people. And then write a book about your trip to Russia.

The next goal of an Indian traveler is the hottest Gobi desert in the world. He also dreams of getting closer to his cherished dream and walking around the Himalayan Mountains.