Srinagar, July 25 — Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, on Saturday flagged off a ‘Reading Marathon’ in Srinagar which is a unique celebration of knowledge, fitness and responsibility towards nature.
Hundreds of youths from various local colleges and universities participated in the reading marathon carrying placards saying, “Say No To Drugs, Say Yes To Books”.
Manoj Sinha said on X, “Today at the banks of Dal Lake, flagged-off the Reading Marathon, a unique celebration of knowledge, fitness, and responsibility towards nature.
“Thousands of young readers and runners from colleges & universities of Jammu Kashmir joined this inspiring event organised by National Book Trust as part of Chinar Book Festival.
“The Reading Marathon, part of Education Week, marks six successful years of the National Education Policy. It shows that education must go beyond classrooms. With the motto 'Run for a Green Future', the reading marathon reminds us that just as knowledge requires discipline, protecting the mother nature demands sustained effort.
“I urge every participant to take three resolutions: Make reading a daily habit, dedicate themselves to environmental conservation and commit to bringing positive change in the society”.
Saturday’s first ever "Reading Run" (Reading Marathon) was held at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar.
The event was organised by the National Book Trust (NBT) India in collaboration with the District Administration Srinagar, held under the banner of the Chinar Book Festival.
The objective of reading marathon is to promote reading habits, lifelong learning, education, and environmental consciousness among schoolchildren and youth across the Valley.
A reading marathon evolved from 24-hour academic read-aloud traditions into global literacy campaigns, digital challenges, and endurance world records. Key milestones include university-led public readings, digital library programs, and AI-assisted literacy drives.
UCLA Tradition started continuous 24-to-28-hour public read-alouds of dense literary works like Gravity’s Rainbow and Ulysses.
The purpose of community focus is designed to bring together students and faculty for collective immersion in single texts.
British Council has organised structured online global reading marathons encouraging members to finish target books over set months.
Regional bodies use reading marathons paired with tools like Google’s Read Along app to track and boost youth literacy.
Guinness Records, Independent challengers continuously break records for the "longest marathon reading aloud," scaling past hundreds of hours to test human endurance limits.