A large number of school children, prominent citizens and others turned up for ‘Walk for Life’, the sixth annual walkathon to express solidarity with those living with cancer and to mark World Cancer Day, that was flagged off by Gursharan Kaur, wife of the Prime Minister, at India Gate on Sunday.
Ms. Kaur has been the chief patron of the ‘Walk for Life’ since its inception. This year the event, organised by CanSupport, had more than 10,000 participants.
‘Tribute Tree’
Along with people from the corporate sector, supporters of the cause, members of the diplomatic corps and the expatriate community in Delhi, a large number of cancer survivors also walked or ran down Rajpath to express their support for the work being done in the field of palliative care.
During the event, the cancer survivors were cheered as they went around on a ‘Lap of Honour’. People also walked and ran in memory of their loved ones and wrote moving messages on the ‘Wall of Honour’. Several participants also wrote messages on a leaf and tied them on the ‘Tribute Tree’.
CanSupport’s annual walk aims to create awareness about cancer, to raise funds for the people affected by cancer and to honour the struggle against cancer.
Among those who turned up for the event were Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Health Minister A.K. Walia, U.S. Ambassador Nancy J. Powell, Member of Parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu and his wife and Punjab Chief Parliamentary Secretary (Health) Navjot Kaur Sidhu, CPI-M Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat, humanitarian worker Elizabeth Antony and CanSupport founder-president Harmala Gupta.