Collector stops boy from marathon cycling expedition

Vellore, Tamil Nadu, May 27 (UNI) An eight-year-old boy's attempt to undertake a cycle expedition to Chennai from here was thwarted by District Collector who expressed concern over the boy's safetly.

Sources said Rahul Ganesh, a standard two student, was all set to undertake the expedition for creating awareness on interlinking of rivers yesterday when District Collector Dharmendra Pratap Yadav who was passing by the way found a crowd gathered on the road.

Stopping his car, the Collector learnt about the boy's project.

A shocked Mr Yadav expressed fear over young lad's safety considering the traffic conditions.

He asked the police to ensure Rahul did not undertake the mission and left.

Later, Vellore MLA Gnanasekaran spoke to the Collector who then permitted Rahul Ganesh to cycle till Perumugai Village near here.

A similar attempt by boy wonder Buddhia Singh of Orissa to undertake a marathon walk from Bhubaneswar to Kolkata last month was objected to by the authorities.

Singh's proposed 500 km walk was aimed at creating awareness on sports while projecting the child as a potential medal prospect in the 2016 Olympics, the Buddhia Singh Trust claimed.

UNI