Kolkata to run for AIDS

The city will walk for AIDS awareness and to remove the stigma attached with the disease on Sunday at ?The Great Kolkata Walkathon?, with more than 10,000 people, including patients, joining the event.

The participants will walk 10 km in the walkathon event, which will include the cause walk of 2.5 km to remove the stigma attached with AIDS.

?On the eve of World Human Rights day, we pledged that we shall protect the rights of the people in various areas like child labour, human trafficking and likes. This time it is the stigma against AIDS,? Satnam Singh Ahluwalia of The Delegation for Human Rights (DHR) said at a press conference on Thursday.

The event is organized by The Delegation for Human Rights (DHR) and Lions Club of Kolkata, Mother Teresa Sarani, Lions International, District 32282, in association with The Art of Living, Kolkata Police and Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

?As part of the Lions club it is our moral obligation to the society to be actively associated with the projects for the betterment of human life. And what better way than to serve AIDS affected people in our small way by standing up to them,? Archana Sonthalia, President of Lions Club Kolkata, Mother Teresa Sarani said.

Siddharth Sawansukha of Sawansukha Jewellers said: ?Every individual is like diamond on jewellery, which makes the society shine, and has the right to survive, I thought what a better opportunity to join this noble initiative.?

Large numbers of celebrities from various fields of work, including Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chattopadhyay, actors Rituparna Sengupta, Abhishek Chatterjee, Sabyasachi Chakroborty, Pallavi Chatterjee, Mir, painter Wasim Kapoor, Samir Aich, footballer Prasun Banerji, percussionist Bickram Ghosh and Olympian Gurbax Singh, will participate at the event.