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| Unprecedented act by 5-year-old Indian boy | | |
BL KAK
NEW DELHI, May 24
An Indian boy, aged just 5, has thrown a challenge to those who want him to sit home and avoid dreaming of creating history of sorts. The boy who once attempted a 70-kilometer marathon, will defy a government decision to ban him from a long-distance walk in searing heat.
Budhia Singh will, however, reduce his walk to 100 kilometers, while his supporters will cover the entire 500 kilometers from Bhubaneswar in Orissa to Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, coach Biranchi Das told mediapersons on Thursday.
"I will walk to Kolkata and nobody can stop me", said Budhia Singh, who also took some questions from reporters. The walk is scheduled for June 6, a time of year when day temperatures in the region hover around 40 degrees Celsius.
The state-run Child Welfare Committee, however, said that the ban imposed earlier this week on Budhia Singh's proposed walk remained in place. "The law will take its own course", said Rabi Shankar Mishra, the committee chairman, suggesting that the State government would stop Singh from participating in the marathon walk.
"Use of a child, be it for a marathon run or a walk amounts to torture and we are here to stop that", Mishra said. Budhia Singh's long-distance running last year sparked protests from rights activists. However, on May 24, coach Biranchi Das said that he may challenge the government ban in court.
Das said that he was looking after the best interests of the boy, whose father died when he was 7 months old. His mother, unable to support him, was about to sell him to another villager for Rs 800 rupees when the family met Das two years ago. Das has said that he has raised Budhia Singh as his son.
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