Good turn on a cycle

At 8 a.m.,Bansal sets off from his house on Pakhowal Road in Ludhiana to the Government Senior Secondary School,where he is holding a lecture on blood donation. He carries with him charts and kits that he has prepared for the children. My aim is to spread this message in schools because I believe children need to know the importance of blood donation. So far,I have lectured in 12 schools in Ludhiana.

Bansal has a packed schedule today. After the lecture,he has to visit the Government College for Boys,where state Health Minister Satpal Gosain is paying a visit as part of a de-addiction programme. Bansal hopes to meet the minister and talk to him about his project. He also hopes to collect some posters and awareness material that will help him prepare charts on blood donation. After that,he plans to visit the Dayanand Medical College in the city and the civil hospital.

I keep interacting with people in hospitals,blood banks and NGOs. My aim is to motivate people to donate blood, he says.

His job with the bank took him to Solan and Patiala,but he always rode his bicycle. I was eligible for an official vehicle and fuel expenses,but I stuck to cycling, he says.

Two of Bansals sons are bank managers and one works in a garment unit. I now live with my younger son in Ludhiana. When I had a regular job,I would talk about blood donation whenever I got some free time,but after I retired,I decided to devote all my time for the welfare of society.