Gurgaon to Darbhanga and 1200 km: 15-year-old Bihar girl Jyoti Kumari pedals injured father amid COVID-19 lockdown

Darbhanga: A 15-year-old girl showed courage and grit when she cycled for almost 1200 km with her injured father riding pillion, amid the coronavirus lockdown situation.

Jyoti Kumari pedalled all the way from Gurgaon in Haryana to her native place at Darbhanga in Bihar. Currently the father-daughter duo are under quarantine at a centre near their village in Sirhulli.

Jyoti's father Mohan Paswan was injured a few months ago and was rendered jobless. Jyoti came to Gurgaon to take care of her father while her mother stayed back at their village with her younger siblings.

With the imposition of the lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic they were unable to do anything. Mohan was unable to earn and his landlord had given him an ultimatum to pay the rent or to vacate the house.

They were so hard pressed for money that he had to stop taking his medicines so that they could buy food. Arranging rent money was very difficult.

Jyoti then suggested to buy a second-hand bicycle and they left Gurgaon for their native place. It took them almost eight days. Jyoti said she would cycle for 30-40 km a day and at a few places truck drivers gave them lifts.

The proud father calls her 'Shravan Kumar' for her deed. "She is indeed my Shravan Kumar. Having arrived feels like salvation," Paswan told news agency PTI.  

Meanwhile, the Cycling Federation of India, impressed with her determination, invited Jyoti to appear for a trial in Delhi next month. Chairman of the federation Onkar Singh told PTI that if Kumari, a class eight student, passed the trial, she will be selected as a trainee at the state-of-the-art National Cycling Academy at the IGI Stadium complex.

"We spoke to the girl this morning and we have told her that she will be called to Delhi next month as soon as the lockdown is lifted. All the expenses of her travel, lodging and other will be borne by us," Singh said.