By IANS,
New Delhi : A group of children who have survived the deadly cancer took out an awareness march here Sunday, with Defence Minister A.K. Antony’s wife Elizabeth and army Chief General Vijay Kumar Singh joining in to express solidarity.
General Singh was accompanied by his wife Bharti Singh in the two-km march. The youngest participant and cancer surviving child was two-year-old Himanshu.
Organised under the auspices of Indian Cancer Society, the rally witnessed participation from navy and coast guard personnel, National Cadet Corps volunteers and cancer survivors’ societies from the capital.
Some of the participants include the navy’s Chief of Personnel Vice Admiral M.P. Muralidharan, Coast Guard Director General Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chopra, National Defence College Commandant Air Marshal P.K. Roy, and Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute’s A.K. Dewan and D.S. Negi.
Over 1,500 children from various schools and colleges in the city joined the march to support the cancer survivors, which also saw Olympian “Flying Sikh” Milkha Singh, first Indian woman to conquer Mount Everest Santosh Yadav, Commonwealth Games wrestling gold medalist Sushil Kumar and his Arjuna awardee coach Satpal Singh.
The main aim of the walk was to celebrate the undying spirit of cancer survivors as well as spread awareness about cancer amongst People like Us. Slogans like “There is Life after Cancer”, “Conquest of Cancer by Choice; not Chance” and “Cancer is Curable” demonstrated the spirit of the walk.
The event was sponsored by the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute, Indian Navy and the Navy Children’s School.
Speaking to reporters after presenting a cheque of Rs.50,000 in support of cancer patients, Singh said: “This is in support of all those fighting against cancer and to express army’s solidarity with them.”
Elizabeth, a cancer awareness activist, has been running an NGO for the survivors.
The armed forces have been, for many years now, supporting similar initiatives in Delhi through a help group Prerna promoted by the Wives Welfare Associations of the three services.