Jaleswar: Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of Baramati police station in Maharashtra’s Pune district, Eknath Janarddan Deshmani, reached Jaleswar police station in Balasore district Monday afternoon.
You could be forgiven for thinking that he was here in Jaleswar in connection with a crime. But the fact is that Jaleswar was just a stopover in his nation-wide cycle journey, campaigning for Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao.
Inspector-in-charge (IIC) Dhaneswar Sahoo, who has recently joined Jaleswar police station and outgoing IIC Pradeep Kumar Majhi, welcomed 48-year-old Deshmani, the crusader against all the evils meted out to a girl child.
While interacting with media here, Deshmani said he is also making people aware about water and electricity conservation and the bad effects of plastic.
“I started my journey from my village November 14. I have already covered many states including Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and many areas in Odisha. From here I will go to Kharagpur in West Bengal and from there will go to Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Meghalaya. Then I will go to Nepal. My journey comes to an end there from where it started, my own village,” informed a cheerful Deshmani.
When asked what made him venture out on such a risky journey, he smiled and said the profession he is in is always full of risks and challenges.
“So they have already become part of my life. Whenever I came across any news on declining ratio of girl child or on crimes against them or on them being dropped-outs, I would feel we as citizens of India should do something as per our ability and capacity.
“And one day I decided to visit the whole nation to make people aware about the essence of the slogan Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao. If only one person gets influenced by my journey and starts acting for the cause, then I will feel my endeavor bears fruit,” he summed up.
He carries a helmet, some clothes and few tools to carry out minor repairs on his cycle, if required. He said he never forgets to wear helmet as he is also propagating the ‘rules of road’ amongst the youngsters.
PNN