Thiruvananthapuram: A young biker, who set off on an all-India solo expedition in order to mobilise help for flood-hit Kerala, met with an accident in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday night.
Swathi Shah, a native of Vazhayila in Thiruvananthapuram and a second year degree student of SN College, suffered serious injuries after his bike collided with a pick-up van at a village on the Madhya Pradesh-Uttar Pradesh border.
Swathi, who was first admitted to a government hospital in Jhansi, was later shifted the Birla Institute of Medical Research in Gwalior, according to reports reaching here. His condition is said to be critical as he has not yet gained consciousness.
He set out on the expedition from the Manaveeyam Veedhi in the state capital on September 19. He had completed two third of the journey, which was supposed to culminate at Kashmir, before the mishap occurred.
Had he completed the ride, Swathi would have become the youngest person to complete the longest solo expedition within a single country.
Swathi’s mother Shaila Beegum, a teacher at Government Boys High School, Karamana, reached the hospital in Gwalior on Wednesday morning.
Swathi, a volunteer of the Manaveeyam Theruvidam Cultural Collective, had actively taken part in the flood relief activities initiated by the group.
According to reports, the Madhya Pradesh police have taken into custody the truck involved in the accident.
Swathi had posted a live video on his Facebook page hours before the incident in which he announced that he was on his way to Gwalior. His bike had notices containing the details of the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund pasted on its mud guards and the fuel tank.
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, chief secretary Tom Jose, and DGP Loknath Behera contacted the authorities in Madhya Pradesh on phone to arrange for treatment to him.
The state government has promised to extend all possible help to the family.
