New Delhi, Oct 20: Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes will lace up his running shoes to join thousands of participants in the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon here Sunday.

Rhodes, who retired in 2003 after playing 52 Tests and 245 ODIs, will run in the Great Delhi Run category.

The IAAF Gold Label Race, known to be one of the fastest courses in the world, has become a preferred event for world class athletes and India's best.

The USD 2,80,000 prize purse event will witness over 34,000 runners in five different categories -- Half Marathon, Open 10K Run, Great Delhi Run, Senior Citizens' Run, and the Champions with Disability.

On his role at the event, Rhodes said he was amazed to see the change in mindset of people towards running and fitness in general.

"To get India moving is so important, especially the kids sitting on a couch playing playstations and tablets everyone has forgotten to move and that's why I am happy to be here as Puma athlete at Airtel Delhi Half Marathon and support the mass participation," Rhodes, a fielder par excellence in his playing days, said.

The 49-year-old also unveiled the Puma Finishers Tee, that will be given to the first thousand finishers of the race, at an event here on Saturday.

"This is the closest I will get to the T-shirt because I am not going to be one of the first thousand finishers," Rhodes said.

The former cricketer will lend his inspiring stories of athleticism to support the race that will show the same energy and vibrancy that Rhodes once exhibited on cricket field.

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Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.

The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.

As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.

"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.

"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.

Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.