Bangalore, Dec 5 (IANS) Around 14,000 Bangaloreans, including 3,000 physically challenged people, Saturday participated in the fifth edition of the annual Bengaluru Walkathon 2009 to create awareness about people with disabilities.
The theme of the walkathon was “Come, Let’s Walk for a Cause - Enable the Disabled”.

The 3.5 km walk began at Kanteerava Indoor Stadium and passing through Cubbon Park and Hudson Circle, ended at the stadium.

Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, a city-based voluntary organisation is the organiser of the annual event. The walkathon was organised to commemorate the International Disability Day observed across the globe Thursday.

“The walkathon has been organised with the view to enable the people of Bangalore to share their compassion and solidarity for the cause of the disabled,” Swaroopa Venkatesh, assistant manager for communication, Samarthanam Trust told IANS.

“The event aims at creating awareness and sensitising people on the issues of disability and promoting the social integration of disabled people into mainstream society,” Venkatesh added.

Along with taking up the cause of differently-abled people, the theme for this year’s walkathon was the “Green Way”.

“All the participants carried a special green kit with pamphlets and brochures on various environmental related issues to be distributed to pedestrians and motorists on the roads during the walkathon,” Venkatesh said.

“The event also focused on effective waste management and the need for recycling renewable resources,” Venkatesh added.

The event saw the large-scale participation of school and college students.

“I have come here to show my solidarity towards people with disabilities. We need to show our empathy for special citizens of Bangalore and try to make the city more disabled friendly,” said Usha Pillai, a college student.

“Walking with us is not just an exercise, it shows the participants care for people with disabilities,” said visually challenged Amit Raj.

According to the 2001 census, Karnataka has 10 lakh people with disabilities.

India is home to 60 million disabled people. Of them, 48 percent are visually impaired, 28 percent are movement impaired, 14 percent are mentally disabled and 10 percent are hearing and speech impaired, states a recent report titled “People with Disabilities in India: From Commitments to Outcomes”, prepared by World Bank in collaboration with the central ministry of social justice and empowerment.