A 50-member team of Friends of Police, which is undertaking a cycle rally to all districts in the State, reached Madurai on Saturday.
Addressing the students of Sethupathi Higher Secondary School here, the members of Friends of Police said that the rally is to bridge the gap between the police and the public, and to create awareness of harassment of women.
The team will cover 3,000 kilometres in 25 days. The rally organised by Friends of Police and Tamil Nadu Book of Records was flagged off at Marina Beach in Chennai, on July 6.
“All schools and colleges should start Friends of Police clubs and students should inform the police of issues in their neighbourhoods,” said D. Mahendran, a cyclist from Chidambaram, who is also the captain of the team that has undertaken the rally.
He also urged the students to help reduce the distance between the police and the public through awareness programmes.
Expressing concern over the rise in the number of incidents where women are subjected to abuse, Mr. Mahendran said that creating awareness of women harassment is the need of the hour.
R. Ashok Kumar, vice-captain of the team, said that the cyclists have covered districts such as Kancheepuram, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Tanjore, Tiruchi, Pudukottai, Sivaganga, Ramanathapuram, Tuticorin and Virudhunagar so far. In 2007, members from Friends of Police had taken a cycle rally from Chidambaram to New Delhi in 37 days and in 2010, they had covered 15,160 kilometres across 25 States in 167 days.
The team is planning to go on a cycle rally from Kanyakumari to the foothills of Kailash in 2017, according to Mr. Mahendran.
As many as 10 persons from the Madurai Unit of Friends of Police are part of the rally. The team went to Theni from Madurai.
