Andhra Pradesh - Tirupati   

Pedalling his way on a noble mission

Staff Reporter

Dejected by apathy of Governments towards physically challenged persons, Mahadev decides to fight for their cause

LONE CRUSADER: Mahadev Patil of Satara in Maharashtra on his mission at Alipiri in Tirupati. Photo: KV Poornachandra Kumar

TIRUPATI: For Mahadev Patil, The Government turning a blind eye towards the physically challenged persons is an issue that is not just to be resented but fought against to its logical end. And that's what he has been doing.

The youth from Satara in Maharashtra is himself a victim of political and bureaucratic indifference.

With no champions to stand up for the cause of the likes of him, he has decided to become one. Thus begins his cycling expedition to attract public attention towards the needs of the physically challenged persons.

Patil began pedalling at Pune and after a strenuous journey of 3,400 km, reached Tirupati on Saturday evening.

Though he planned to tour Tirumala Hills on his cycle, he was denied entry at Alipiri checking point on Sunday.

He hired a jeep to the hills and offered prayers to the Lord before continuing his onward journey to Hyderabad via Kadapa and Kurnool.

Meets Chief Ministers

"En route, I met Chief Ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh (Maharashtra), H.D. Kumaraswamy (Karnataka) and V.S. Achutanandan (Kerala), but my plea was turned down in Goa and Tamil Nadu," he rues.

Patil has many feathers in his cap.

He stood first in the 200-metre race and the 5,000- metre cycling at the National Sports Meet conducted for orthopaedically challenged persons by Pune-based Artificial Limb Centre in 1994 as part of its golden jubilee celebrations.

He had also taken part in the Sprint Decathlon Challenge, a 2-km run conducted by Maharashtra Amateur Triathlon Association in Mumbai in 1991.

Patil explained how he had to forgo taking part in an international sporting event when selectors demanded money from him.

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