Madhya Pradesh Man, 38, Cycles 105 km For Son's Exam

In the absence of public transport, a 38-year-old man travelled on a bicycle for 105 kilometers, carrying his son, to ensure he does not miss his Class 10 boards supplementary exam in Madhya Pradesh.

Though Shobhram, who paddled the cycle, is himself illiterate, he says he understands the importance of education and did not want his son to waste one year by missing the supplementary paper.

With no public transport available due to the COVID-19 lockdown and hardly any money, Shobhram decided to take his son on a bicycle to Dhar town, some 105 km away, so that he can appear in Class 10th boards supplementary exam conducted under the Madhya Pradesh government's "Ruk Jana Nahin" scheme.

The scheme gives an opportunity to students to clear those subjects which they were unable to pass in the first attempt.

"No means of transport, including bus, were available due to the prevailing coronavirus situation. But if I had missed this opportunity, then my son's one year would have gone waste. Therefore, I decided to take him for the examination on a bicycle," Shobhram told PTI on Wednesday.

"Besides, we don't have money or even a motorcycle. Nobody helps. But for improving my son's life, I brought him to Dhar for appearing in the examination on bicycle," he said.

"We carried food and other eatables with us for sustaining ourselves in Dhar for two-three days. We started on Monday and after spending a few hours of night at Manawar town, we reached Dhar on Tuesday morning just before start of the exam," he said.

The boy, Ashish, aged around 15, said: "I am studying in Class 10 and I came here on cycle with my father for appearing in the examination."