Sacrificing a lazy Sunday morning, athletes, students and other Bangaloreans walked together to ‘save the girl child’.
Arjuna awardee and former athlete, Reeth Abraham flagged off Kanyathon, a walkathon organised by Bangalore Oniyavara Seva Coota (BOSCO), a non-government organisation (NGO) that rescues and rehabilitates street and working children in Bangalore, and IFIM (The Institute of Finance and International Management, Bangalore) on Sunday.
In Kanteerava Stadium, children clad in bright uniforms stood in lines holding placards which said ‘save the girl child’, written with crayons.
A student’s melodious voice broke through the chattering crowd and garnered all attention with the song O Ri Chiraiya, Nanhi Si Chidiya, Angna Mein Phir Aaja Re.
“The singer is really good. The song bought tears to my eyes. Such things really create an impact. India, being a developing country, we really need such initiatives to create awareness,” said Manya, a 10th standard student as she swayed to the music.
A group of students stood patiently waiting for the walkathon to start. When asked what they felt about the cause, they said, “We feel good that in some way we are doing our bit for the society. This is the first time we are participating in such an initiative and it makes us really happy. Nothing will change overnight but someday our efforts will pay off.”
Former International athlete Reeth Abraham was seen sharing a lighter moment with the students. “It is the responsibility of every citizen to do something about this issue. Most people think that it is a thing of the past and doesn’t happen anymore. We get a jolt when we read incidents in the newspapers. Such evils prevail more in the rural areas.
We need to create awareness at the grass root level,” she said posing for the paparazzi.
As the walkathon started, people were seen hooting and clapping, celebrating the initiative in their own small way.
This unique initiative which attracted approximately 2000 Bangaloreans from all walks of life, started from Kanteerava Stadium via Cubbon Park and back to the stadium and covered a distance of 2.5 km.