Kolkata Marathon to support underprivileged cancer children

File picture: Sourav Ganguly and Baichung Bhutia

Kolkata, Jan 3 (IANS) Over 10,000 participants — including a wheelchair bound person, two women over the age of 80 years and children with cerebral palsy — have registered for the Rs.11.1 lakh prize money Kolkata Marathon Sunday to generate funds for treatment of underprivileged child cancer patients.

A group of cyclists and a milieu of stars, players and musicians will also take part in the event, alongside former Indian cricket skipper Sourav Ganguly, footballer Bhaichung Bhutia, actress Rituparna Sengupta and designer Anamika Khanna.

People from Punjab, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Chattisgarh, Meghalaya, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha will also run the race organsied by the Tata Medical Centre.

Students from various schools and colleges will be seen in large numbers in the Marathon, spanning a total stretch of over 60 km (all categories of race combined).

The race is split into five categories – marathon, mini marathon, fun run, corporate run and school run.

“Kheta Ram from Punjab (winner of Delhi Half Marathon), Surinder Singh and Binning Lyngkhoi, winners of last year’s Kolkata Marathon are among the runners,” said Prochy Mehta, director, One Ad Display Pvt. Ltd., one of the partners of the marathon.

“Indian football players invited by the Football Player’s Association Of India include Brazilian Jose Ramirez Barreto, Adil Khan. The East Bengal team will also run,” Mehta said.

A group of cyclists will pedal at the end of the races.

Danseuse Tanushree Shankar and her troupe will regale the enthusiasts before the start from Red Road at 6 a.m. Sunday. The races will conclude at the same spot.

West Bengal Governor M.K. Narayanan will receive the torch from Kolkata Police Commissioner Surajit Kar Purkayastha, with top athletes from West Bengal lighting the inaugural lamp.

The proceeds of the race will go for expansion of the hospital here and the creation of a corpus fund for treatment of underprivileged child cancer patients.

Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor, who has pledged support to the marathon, will be absent due to shooting commitments.