Pudukottai boy who set out on a futile journey rescued

TIRUPUR: The timely intervention of a Childline staff helped a 15-year-old boy end an arduous journey, which would have never taken him to the destination he wanted to reach.

According to the social welfare department source, the boy, a native of Pudukottai, fled from his house to save himself from his (alleged) alcoholic father, 45-year-old Kathiresan, a painter in Gandhi Nagar in Pudukottai. Having faced harassment frequently for scoring poor marks, the boy decided to meet his aunt residing in Ooty.

On Sunday, the boy stole Rs 150 from his younger brother's money box and boarded a bus to from Pudukottai around 8 am. When he reached Coimbatore bus stop in the evening, the boy had exhausted all the money he had, the sources said.

He stayed put in the bus stop for a few hours and decided to set out on a foot journey to Ooty as he did not have money to buy a bus ticket to the hill station.

However, instead of walking towards Mettupalayam, the teenager took the Tirupur route on Kovai-Salem Highway, the sources said.

After a 40-km walk, which he covered after intermittently resting in several places, the boy reached Thekkalur near Avinashi on Monday morning.

A Childline staff, who the boy met to enquire about the distance he had to cover, sensed that the boy was on a futile journey. The victim was rescued and taken to Tirupur Childline office after he was medically found fit, the sources said, adding that he was produced before District Childwelfare Committee.

The officials contacted the boy's parents and spoke to his mother, who along with other relatives, would be arriving in Tirupur today (Tuesday). After the completion of formalities, the parents would be allowed to take the boy with them, the department sources informed.