Soon after being served a brunch by the PMA, the participants, including doctors and nurses, began the five-kilometre race. The race was run from the Race Course Park on Jail Road to Siddique Trade Centre on Gulberg’s Main Boulevard.
Khwaja Salman Rafique, the chief minister’s special adviser on health, called the start.
Traffic on both Jail and the Main Boulevard was diverted for a while. There were no major traffic jams.
Before the commencement of the race, marathon T-shirts with the campaign slogan- Dengue Se Darna Nahin, Larna Hai- were distributed among the participants.
Representatives of Mortein, an insecticide, also took part in the race and also distributed dengue awareness literature among the participants.
The participants were divided into four categories: men, women, youth and doctors. Winners in each category were given Rs5,000 to Rs10,000 cash prizes.
PMA general secretary Dr Izhar Chaudhary said, “The event was a success.
Most of the participants completed the race, there were some who did not.”
Hassan Murtaza, one of the participants, said, “I completed the race and enjoyed. One seldom gets a chance to run on Jail Road, which is a very busy road otherwise.” He said it was a good way to create awareness among the people.
Later, a musical concert was held at the Race Course Park, for the participants and prize distribution among the winners.
MNA Khwaja Saad Rafique was the chief guest. In his speech, the MNA appreciated the efforts of the medical fraternity during the last year’s dengue outbreak.
PMA president Dr Tanveer Anwar thanked Mortein and the Punjab government for their support in organising the event. He said that people should learn how to fight dengue and not be afraid of it.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 24th, 2012.
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