CHENNAI: At 5.30 am on Sunday, around 80 participants, young and old, gathered at Elliots Beach to take part in a cycle rally to create awareness 'to stop child rape and abuse' organised by AIMS Organisation and members of cyclists associations in the city. The 10 km-rally was flagged off by Nina Reddy, joint managing director, Savera Group.
The participants wore custom-made-shirts and boards carrying the slogan, 'Stop child rape and abuse' were tied to all cycles. Arshad Khan, one of the cyclists said, "I came here with my cycle mates as it is for a good cause." The 10-km rally began at Elliots Beach. The participants went up to MRC Nagar and came back to the starting point. Madhusuthanan, a school student said, “The organisers were guiding us throughout. This will also encourage people to take up cycling professionally.”
The chief guests for the event were Rohit Nadhan, IPS, Sarvesh Raj, IPS, and Vijayalakshmi, former minister, Ministry of Women and Child Development. Talking about the cause and the recently introduced death penalty Vijayalakshmi said, “This law is a much-needed one. There are 15,000 cases registered under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) act, but there are more which are yet unknown. I hope the new law allows action to be taken immediately.” Rohit Nandhan added, "When a child is abused, their families don't come forward and talk about it or give a complaint. This should change."