Polio-afflicted man to drive from Chennai to Delhi
13 Aug 2013 4:34 AM IST
Being afflicted by polio that left both legs crippled at a tender age might mean end of active life for most, but not for 42-year-old D Ravi who has set his eyes on a gruelling 24-hour drive to Delhi from Chennai in a modified SUV to focus on mobility issues of disabled people.
Ravi, whose indomitable spirit saw him keeping himself mobile on his own despite suffering the disability when he was just two, would also be attempting a Guinness record for the fastest car journey ever by a disabled people person when he hits the road next month as planned.
Driving a car is nothing new for Ravi, an assistant at the LIC of India branch in Krishnagiri. He got his Maruti Swift modified by fitting a kit that allows him to drive the car by using his hands alone.
In the past one year since he bought the car, he has logged around 55,000 km. Ravi, who depends on crutches to walk around, commutes to his office by car daily, covering 80 km from his home town Ambur in Vellore district.
‘My aim is to create awareness about various issues connected with personal mobility of disabled peoples. Many people, who are affected by disability, are unaware of their rights and benefits available,’ says Ravi, who has registered with Guinness Book of World Records.
Regretting that several disabled people are unaware of options such as fully hand-driven cars and confine themselves to homes, he said he also wanted his feat to inspire such people to get moving around. He has tentatively planned to set out on the journey to Delhi on 16 September from here and travel ‘non-stop’ through Bangalore, Hubli, Pune, Mumbai, Surat, Ahmedabad and Jaipur on his way.
He would stop only to fill fuel and to attend to nature’s call. ‘I am planning an average speed of 120 kmph to cover the 2,761 km distance in 24 hours. I am confident of achieving it,’ he said.
‘My intention is to show to the world that being affected by disability is not the end of road,’ Ravi added.
On reaching Delhi, he plans to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister, seeking among other things changes in motor vehicle rules that will benefit the disabled people.
Ravi said the rules relating to modification of vehicles differ from state to state and wants them to be made uniform. He also wants excise duty exemption for modified cars and two-wheelers so that
more people would be able to use them.
Ravi, whose indomitable spirit saw him keeping himself mobile on his own despite suffering the disability when he was just two, would also be attempting a Guinness record for the fastest car journey ever by a disabled people person when he hits the road next month as planned.
Driving a car is nothing new for Ravi, an assistant at the LIC of India branch in Krishnagiri. He got his Maruti Swift modified by fitting a kit that allows him to drive the car by using his hands alone.
In the past one year since he bought the car, he has logged around 55,000 km. Ravi, who depends on crutches to walk around, commutes to his office by car daily, covering 80 km from his home town Ambur in Vellore district.
‘My aim is to create awareness about various issues connected with personal mobility of disabled peoples. Many people, who are affected by disability, are unaware of their rights and benefits available,’ says Ravi, who has registered with Guinness Book of World Records.
Regretting that several disabled people are unaware of options such as fully hand-driven cars and confine themselves to homes, he said he also wanted his feat to inspire such people to get moving around. He has tentatively planned to set out on the journey to Delhi on 16 September from here and travel ‘non-stop’ through Bangalore, Hubli, Pune, Mumbai, Surat, Ahmedabad and Jaipur on his way.
He would stop only to fill fuel and to attend to nature’s call. ‘I am planning an average speed of 120 kmph to cover the 2,761 km distance in 24 hours. I am confident of achieving it,’ he said.
‘My intention is to show to the world that being affected by disability is not the end of road,’ Ravi added.
On reaching Delhi, he plans to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister, seeking among other things changes in motor vehicle rules that will benefit the disabled people.
Ravi said the rules relating to modification of vehicles differ from state to state and wants them to be made uniform. He also wants excise duty exemption for modified cars and two-wheelers so that
more people would be able to use them.
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