53-year-old crusader on road mission to fight drug abuse

Kuldeep Singh Rathore, 53, is on a one-man, cross-country mission: To spread awareness about drug abuse and addiction. Despite being physically challenged, he is

Kuldeep Singh Rathore, 53, is on a one-man, cross-country mission: To spread awareness about drug abuse and addiction. Despite being physically challenged, he is touring the country on his three-wheel bike, visiting areas frequented by drug users and counselling them.

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Rathore began his journey on April 1 from Ludhiana in Punjab and has visited places in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. In Maharashtra, he visited Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nashik and Thane, and will now make his way towards Mumbai and Pune. Between 2010 and 2014, he made a similar journey on a tricycle.

“I was a child when I was affected by polio, but I never considered it to be a handicap. I completed my education in the field of commerce, worked at a farm and took care of all my personal responsibilities before setting out on this mission. During my travels, I stay at gurdwaras and have meals there,” said Rathore. “I will go to Mumbai and Pune and then head south. I have learnt to recognise addicts and those selling drugs. If I come across drug peddlers, I immediately alert the local police.”