Gujarat: Four kids ride 9km to Bhavnagar to save pigeon

AHMEDABAD: Four students seem to have come to their class already schooled in compassion: they rode on their bicycles for 9km to Bhavnagar city seeking treatment for a pigeon that had been hit by the fan in their classroom. Their mission can serve as an edifying lesson for society.
The first day of the academic session on Monday began with excitement for these Class VIII students of Shri Malanka Primary School. Their village Malanka is outside Bhavnagar city.
As friends reunited and chatted exuberantly, a thud silenced the classroom. A pigeon had crashed to the ground after colliding with the fan. The students who acted to save the bird included two boys bearing the same name: Sandip Bariya. The two Sandips were joined in the rescue effort by Gopal Bariya and Ashish Bariya. They first poured some water on the bird.
Later, the students informed their teacher Hemal Maheta about the bird. “We were helpless as the school was to begin,” Maheta said. “So we told them that unfortunately we couldn’t do much. But the four volunteered to take the pigeon to an NGO which treats injured birds.”
Ashish said: “We had attended camps in Bhavnagar in which we had learnt to attend to injured birds.” He added: “We made holes in a box we had found and placed the pigeon in the box.”
One of the Sandips (also known as Vishnu), said: “We decided to ride our bicycles and take the bird to Nature Club in Bhavnagar.” He added: “The teachers helped us and granted us permission to leave the school. We want the bird back on the tree where it had laid eggs. The eggs have hatched and some chicks have been born.”
Harshad Ravaliya, the vice-president of Nature Club in Bhavnagar, said: “We got information from a teacher that four students were coming with an injured pigeon.” He added: “We were touched that these students rode such a long distance to save a common bird like pigeon. These children are sensitive to birds. We know that because they have attended our nature camps.”