Jyoti Kumari, 15-year-old girl hailing from Bihar, cycled1200 km and reached her native place, Darbhanga, Bihar, in seven days on May 17. She was carrying her father on the carrier of hercycle and began her journey on May 10 from Gurugram. She has now been offered a trial at the Cycling Federation of India. While some, including daughter of US President Donald Trump, have hailed the move, a few people like politician Omar Abdullah have also criticized it.
Ivanka tweeted Friday night, “15 yr old Jyoti Kumari, carried her wounded father to their home village on the back of her bicycle covering +1,200 km over 7 days. This beautiful feat of endurance & love has captured the imagination of the Indian people and the cycling federation!” She also posted an emoji of India’s alongside the tweet. Quoting Ivanka’s tweet, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah wrote, “Her poverty & desperation are being glorified as if Jyoti cycled 1,200 KM for the thrill of it. Government failed her, that’s hardly something to trumpet as an achievement.”
Chairman, Onkar Singh told PTI on Thursday, that if the 15 years old student passes the trial, she will be selected as a trainee at the state-of-the-art National Cycling Academy at the IGI Stadium Complex in New Delhi. “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. If she needs to accompany somebody from home, we will also allow that. We will see in consultation with our Bihar state unit on how she can be brought to Delhi for a trial,” he said.
Jyoti’s father, Mohan Paswan, was an auto rickshaw driver working in Gurugram for past 20 years. He was injured in a road accident in January and was not in a condition to walk. Mohan is in quarantine centre now while Jyoti is at home.