More than 4,000 children, women, students and elders participated with great enthusiasm in the 16th Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Karachi City Marathon and Health Walk-2005 held here on Sunday morning. Around 350 special persons including children and elders, of them about 10 on wheel chairs, also participated.
Seven-member peace mission from Hiroshima, Nagasaki (Japan) including journalists and a female survivor of atomic attack on the city, had travelled to participate in this event.
City Nazim Naimatullah Khan led the walk from PMA House, Karachi to Quaid's Mausoleum and returned at the starting point walking through M A Jinnah Road, where it terminated.
This year theme for marathon was "Pure water is life". Speakers underlined the importance of pure water for body and urged public to use water after purifying it from germs.
The City Nazim appreciated efforts of the PMA for healthier society and said such events should be encouraged and be organised regularly.
"There is dire need to create health awareness among masses to prevent diseases as no nation can progress unless it has healthier society," he said.
He said City District Government Karachi (CDGK) was utilising all it's resources to provide clean water and healthy environment to the citizens and people had also witnessed healthy activities of CDGK. General Secretary PMA, Karachi, Dr Qaiser Sajjad said PMA started first time marathon event from 1989 and continued to organise this event on regular basis in order to create awareness among the people about walk.