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Free bike a year for life for girl in India who donated to flood victims the money she'd saved to buy herself a bicycle

World's biggest bicycle manufacturer, Hero Cycles, acts after learning of youngster's act of kindness...

A girl in India who donated money she had been saving to buy herself a bike to victims of the devastating floods in Kerala has been told by the world’s biggest bicycle manufacturer that she will receive a free bicycle each year of her life from it in recognition of her kindness.

What has been described as the heaviest monsoon in a century has led to more than 350 deaths in the state in south-east India in recent weeks, while 800,000 people are said to have been displaced.

Over the past four years, a young girl called Anupriya living in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu had managed to save a total of 9,000 Rupees (£101), which she planned to spend on a bicycle.

But when she saw the plight of people in Kerala on TV, she decided to donate the money to victims of the flooding.

To put the amount Anupriya donated into context, India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has said that people seriously injured in the floods will receive a payment of 50,000 Rupees (£561) from the government.

The story was picked up by a local newspaper and subsequently went viral on social media yesterday.

On Twitter, it was spotted by Indian business Hero Cycles, the world’s biggest bicycle manufacturer in terms of numbers of bikes produced, and which promised her a brand new bike for her gesture.

But there was more to come. The company’s chairman and managing director, Pankaj M Munjal, said she would be given a free bicycle for every year for life.

Things have moved quickly since that tweet yesterday, with Anupriya taking delivery of her new bicycle today.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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5 comments

Avatar
DrG82 | 6 years ago
1 like

Yay! Finally something nice happening. Some faith in humanity returned.

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds | 6 years ago
1 like

Hopefully the family give the 'old' bike to someone who can use it whom otherwise might not have been able to purchase. absolute win, win all round.

having saved up my paper round money in a monthly saver when I was 14  so I could get a bike for my 16th (mum scraped by in those days so it was the only way I was getting one) I'm not so sure I could make that sacrifice having nearly having my fingers ripped off every week by some little shit of a terrier, so big raps to her/family.

Avatar
Grahamd | 6 years ago
1 like

Great piece of news, such a selfless act and rightly being rewarded.

Avatar
Mungecrundle | 6 years ago
12 likes

I cannot even begin to comprehend of giving 4 years worth of savings for the benefit of others. Complete strangers who would not even know where the money came from. Totally selfless act of generosity.

Avatar
burtthebike replied to Mungecrundle | 6 years ago
2 likes
Mungecrundle wrote:

I cannot even begin to comprehend of giving 4 years worth of savings for the benefit of others. Complete strangers who would not even know where the money came from. Totally selfless act of generosity.

Couldn't have put it better myself, and so good that the bike company recognised her sacrifice.

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