Fill a form, ride a cycle to school

‘‘In rural areas, the average distance between the village and the nearest school is four to eight kms.

“Many girls drop out of school because of this.

And here lies the significance of the Cycle Yojna,’’ says Krishnan.

The yojna, the brainchild of CM Marandi, has been put under the state Human Resource and Welfare Departments, he says.

Preliminary data gathered by the two Depts showed that 16,784 girl students from the lower strata were enrolled in middle and high schools in the four districts of Gumla, Simdega, East Singhbhum and West Singhbhum alone. It was decided to gift each girl with a bicycle in the first phase.

The state plans to distribute an overall 61,000 bicycles amongst girls at a function here on November 15 to celebrate the state’s second birth anniversary. The function will be presided over by Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani.

‘‘The CM himself hails from a poor tribal family. So he can understand the problems of the girl students,’’ says Dhirendra Murmu, a BJP worker considered close to Marandi. Marandi was, however, unavailable for comments.

To avail of the scheme, the girl student just has to fill an application form which is readily available at the office of the Block Development Officer.