Neral schoolchildren hold cycle rally, distribute 2,000 leaflets for rabies awareness

Children from Vidya Vikas School in Neral held a cycle rally on September 28 to mark World Rabies Day, spreading awareness against rabies. The rally began from Neral police station, where police officers flagged off the children.

The cycle rally included Hiren Hisalke, Aryan Ravindra Deshmukh, Vighnesh Devanand Kadam, Shreya Suresh Parte, Vansh and Roshan Dhule. The children cycled to different schools to spread awareness about rabies. Vidya Vikas School students carried out this campaign across several schools.

Rabies is an extremely serious disease, but timely preventive treatment can prevent it. Around 59,000 deaths occur worldwide every year due to rabies. Keeping this serious issue in mind, cyclist Hiren Hisalke, along with fellow students, carried out this awareness campaign through the cycle rally to spread the message.

The children had banners with information about rabies fixed on their cycles and created awareness among people during the rally. They also called people they knew and explained in detail what rabies is, its symptoms, and what treatment should be given in case of a dog bite or scratch. They also informed people about how vaccination is done to prevent rabies.

Around two thousand leaflets were distributed as part of the campaign. During the campaign, the children visited Neral Vidya Mandir, Vidya Vikas Mandir, Zilla Parishad School Valmikinagar and Zilla Parishad School Neral 1, providing information about rabies at all these schools. During this, the children also ran a signature campaign on the issue of stray dogs.

Given the rising number of stray dogs in Neral city and the safety concerns of citizens, Vidya Vikas School children took this unique initiative, which is being widely appreciated in the city. Throughout the campaign, the school's headmistress Shailaja Nikam and Vinaya Kakade, along with parent Ram Hisalke, guided the children.