Dirt bikes bring adventure sports to Punjab

HOSHIARPUR - It’s a new concept that is raising a lot of dust. All-terrain vehicles (ATVs), dirt bikes, paint-balls and other gadgets for adventure sports are making inroads into the state’s rapidly transforming rural belt - and Punjabis, with their penchant for thrills, are loving that!

Besides farmers from the region itself, businessmen, hoteliers, stockbrokers and even foreign nationals are lining up for it. It turns out they do not mind paying to hit the dirt track even if it means a minimum of Rs.1,000 per hour on the ATV.

“When I arrived here, I realised there was not much to do in the area of adventure, especially for kids. People were bored with the routine. Once we started operations last month in Ludhiana, the response was absolutely phenomenal,” says Rahul Soni, 36, who runs adventure company Xtremeways.com.

He left his corporate job with an oil company in Canada to head back home in Ludhiana to give Punjabis a taste of high-voltage thrills.

Soni started by importing ATVs and dirt bikes from China and today his investment of Canadian $100,000 in Xtremeways is paying rich dividends.

“You see, this is an addictive sport because of the thrill it gives,” Soni told IANS as he hit a dry rivulet trail at Nara Choe, 10 km from here.

Soni has tied up with Harkirat Ahluwalia of Citrus County, who runs a luxury farm tourism resort near Hoshiarpur, to bring adventure to all those willing to slug it out in a state where rising farm incomes are raising aspirations.

“Driving ATVs in the farms and through the rivulet is a completely amazing experience. You know the thrill only when you have done it. When you drive these machines, rural people, who have only seen tractors in the fields, watch in complete awe,” Harkirat told IANS.

Soni, who lives in Ludhiana, had come to Citrus County as a guest and ended up entering into a business tie-up for rural adventure with Harkirat, 33, who is an agriculturist-entrepreneur.

Dry rivulets, agricultural land and semi-mountainous terrain are available aplenty across Punjab for adventure sports. “We intend to introduce new concepts and machines to pamper adventure-craving Punjabis. These include mechanical bull (imported from the US), gold simulators, paint-ball and rock climbing,” Soni said.

The adventure sports entrepreneur takes the safety of patrons seriously. “I want to give people a hobby with safety attached. In India, no one bothers about safety, especially in adventure sports. But we do not compromise on such things,” said Soni, who has done an online course on safety.

Assisting Soni is 28-year-old Nav Chetan Singh, ‘Navi’ to friends, who says he got bored of his father’s printing business and took up a career in adventure sports with Xtremeways.

“We came to the farm resort (Citrus County) for a weekend stay with our family and friends. We saw the ATVs and hit the trail. Even the women loved it,” Jalandhar-based financial investor Saurabh said.

(Jaideep Sarin can be contacted at jaideep.s@ians.in)