Chennai: DMK legislator A.P. Nandakumar went beyond his call of duty on Friday and took tribal children from his constituency to the beach. The children, belonging to tribal families in the three hills of Jarthan Kollai, Palampatti and Peenjamandai were taken to the Marina beach near the Gandhi statue by the district secretary of Vellore, followed by day of fun and frolic for them all.
As many as 55 girls, all studying at the Anaicut Residential Special Training Centre, through the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in association with an NGO named ‘Hand in Hand India’ were brought to Chennai as they had expressed to the MLA that they had never seen a beach in their lives.
“When I visited them on the birthday of Kalaignar Karunanidhi, the girls expressed to me that they had never seen a beach before. It is then that I realized that they had never even left the hill station before,” said Nandakumar. “So, I decided to bring them here.”
On the morning of July 6, a special bus was arranged to bring the 55 girls, along with 10 teachers and coordinators to Chennai. “We reached here around 10:30 am,” said Milka, the teacher who accompanied them. They were directly taken to the beach, where the MLA met them. “He brought us ice cream and played with us on the seashore, he asked each of the girls what they wanted and some of them even rode a horse,” said Milka.
For lunch, the group was taken to the MLA hostel where they were fed biryani specially ordered for them. “We were taken to the Birla planetarium after lunch and showed all the amazing inventions,” said Mahalakshmi, a girl from the group who studies in class 7. The MLA is said to have patiently explained each exhibit displayed in the planetarium to the children.
The bus travelled back to Vellore after the girls were given evening snacks, says Nandakumar, who is immensely happy that he could fulfill their wishes. “This makes me very happy that God has given me the strength to take care of children,” he said.
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