The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Driving home a message

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 03, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Driving home a message

Special Correspondent

COMMITTED CRUSADER: B. Srinivas Raju, who drove, blindfolded from Srikakulam to Hyderabad.

HYDERABAD: A 33-year-old man B. Srinivas Raju drove all the way from his native Srikakulam town to the city outskirts blindfolded in his Maruti 800 car as part of his campaign against HIV/AIDS.

On reaching here, he called on Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy and the Revenue Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao, who hails from the same district.

As he sped past villages and towns, negotiating the traffic and dodging obstructions, people lined up on the roadside at several places to catch a glimpse of the man sitting at the steering wheel, his face covered with black cloth. A dozen of his friends and admirers following him in another vehicle distributed leaflets to educate people on the precautions to be taken against HIV/AIDS.

Sudden stop

Srinivas Raju, a graduate, who is called as `Apara Andhra Sarkar' for his proficiency in magic, however, had to terminate his 1,000-km-long journey at Mount Opera even before reaching Hyderabad as the police would not allow him due to possible traffic snarls.

Mr. Raju, whose blindfold rally was flagged off by Srikakulam district Collector V. N. Vishnu on Republic Day, met the Chief Minister at the Secretariat on Friday. Patting him, Dr. Reddy said: "Well done. Continue your good work." The rally was sponsored by Red Cross Society, Srikakulam. On earlier occasions, Mr. Raju undertook the feat in his district covering nearly 1,000 km to raise funds for Latur earthquake victims, and a 3,200-km-long journey in the year 2000 to campaign against AIDS.

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Andhra Pradesh