THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Around 100 students of Sree Vivekananda Memorial Public School near Neyattinkara had a harrowing time on Wednesday as they had to wait in the open for over one-and-a-half hours for the bike rally flag off ceremony to begin in Kovalam. The students, who arrived at the Tourist Information Centre in Kovalam before 11 am, had to wait well beyond 12.30 pm as Tourism Minister A P Anil Kumar was late for the function.
The accompanying teachers also had a tough time managing the students, who turned restless after an hour.
In the absence of chairs, except for the Minster and select officials, the students who remained standing for an hour and a half also had to put up with the sweltering heat.
Some of them were fortunate to find space under a canopy nearby.
The Minister, who arrived after 12.30 pm, was quick to apologise to the students and cited the Cabinet meeting as the reason for the delay. Though the meeting was expected to end before 11 am it continued even after 12 noon, he said. A batch of around 30 students from Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS) in Kovalam were also present at the venue.