Free bike a year for life for girl in India who donated to flood victims the money she'd saved to buy herself a bicycle

A girl in India who donated money she had been saving to buy herself a bike to victims of the devastating floods in Kerala has been told by the world’s biggest bicycle manufacturer that she will receive a free bicycle each year of her life from it in recognition of her kindness.

What has been described as the heaviest monsoon in a century has led to more than 350 deaths in the state in south-east India in recent weeks, while 800,000 people are said to have been displaced.

Over the past four years, a young girl called Anupriya living in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu had managed to save a total of 9,000 Rupees (£101), which she planned to spend on a bicycle.

But when she saw the plight of people in Kerala on TV, she decided to donate the money to victims of the flooding.

To put the amount Anupriya donated into context, India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has said that people seriously injured in the floods will receive a payment of 50,000 Rupees (£561) from the government.

The story was picked up by a local newspaper and subsequently went viral on social media yesterday.

On Twitter, it was spotted by Indian business Hero Cycles, the world’s biggest bicycle manufacturer in terms of numbers of bikes produced, and which promised her a brand new bike for her gesture.

Dear Anupriya, We appreciate your gesture to support humanity in the hour of need. You would get a brand new cycle from us. Please DM your address or contact us at customer [at] herocycles.com. @PankajMMunjal

— Hero Cycles (@Hero_Cycles) August 19, 2018

But there was more to come. The company’s chairman and managing director, Pankaj M Munjal, said she would be given a free bicycle for every year for life.

@PankajMMunjal our leader going all out to ensure that act of kindness & good are promoted. #HeroCycles stands with the humanity and we would request each one of us to support people in need. #KerelaFloods @HMOIndia @narendramodi @PMOIndia @Ethirajans @CMOTamilNadu https://t.co/dpq3DCWnUY

— Hero Cycles (@Hero_Cycles) August 19, 2018

Things have moved quickly since that tweet yesterday, with Anupriya taking delivery of her new bicycle today.

Kid Anupriya who donated her piggy bank savings towards #KeralaFloodRelief has got her brand new bike from @Hero_Cycles ! Thanks a tonne to @PankajMMunjal! pic.twitter.com/YKLIlXIGgu

— Ethirajan Srinivasan (@Ethirajans) August 20, 2018