KOCHI: People often take long leisure rides to follow a passion. However, some rides are fueled by purpose. Following a calling, Vishnudas P S and David Mammen had embarked on a unique journey on a bike to spread awareness about the recent floods which devastated Kerala. The trip which began from Kochi to Kashmir covered 9,000 kms in 34 days.
The duo, Vishnudas P S and David Mammen chose to travel across 12 states covering major cities and townships. “We had planned to go on a ride like this 10 years ago. When the floods hit Kerala, we approached our authorities at work who encouraged us to embark on the journey. Through our ride, we decided to spread awareness about the losses that the state incurred in the floods and eliminate the misconceptions that people in other states had about the calamity,” said Vishnu, an HML employee.
The duo started their journey on August 31 which was flagged off by HML Head Officer V Venugopal. The ride concluded on October 4 at New Delhi. According to them, they wanted to dispel the negative campaign which was spreading against malayalees among North Indians. They distributed fliers and urged people to donate to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund. They travelled to places such as Kozhikode, Mangaluru, Goa, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Rann of Kutch, Udaipur, Jaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner, Punjab and then finally to Srinagar. “ The journey was really exciting for us, especially when we reached Kashmir. It was raining heavily. But the people there were really supportive,” said Vishnudas.
Their bikes spotted banners and brochures in order to create awareness of their cause. “ We took the old road from Goa to Mumbai so that we could meet more number of people and spread awareness. I had a misconception that most of the North Indians are rude but when we reached Punjab, people came to us asking how they can contribute clothes,” said Vishnudas. To all those who offered their help, we asked them to support the rehabilitation initiatives of the Kerala Government.
Both Vishnudas P S and David Mammen are employees of Harrisons Malayalam Ltd. The company has also contributed around Rs 52 lakh to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund.
All the employees had contributed their one day salary to the rehabilitation funds.
A 34-day journey
The duo started their journey on August 31 which was flagged off by HML Head Officer V Venugopal. The ride concluded on October 4 at New Delhi. According to them, they wanted to dispel the negative campaign which was spreading against malayalees among North Indians. They distributed fliers and urged people to donate to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund.