Narendra Modi fulfilling Indians' dreams, flags off Run of Unity

Vadodara, Dec 15:

Chief Minister and PM candidate of Bharatiya Janata Party (

) --

flagged off Run of Unity in Vadodara, Gujarat on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's death anniversary on Sunday, Dec 15.

While attending the event, Modi said that Run of Unity is aiming to fulfill the aspirations and dreams of the people of the country, he also added, "Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel spent his lifetime uniting the country. When we remember Sardar Patel, it reminds us of his teachings on unity, Swarajya and farmers."

The event is an effort to collect scrap iron to build Sardar Patel's 182-metre statue in the middle of Narmada river, which is scheduled to be completed before January 26, 2014.

Around 50 lakh people are expected to run a marathon in over 1,000 locations

Around 50 lakh people are expected to run a marathon in over 1,000 locations across the country.

Vadodara Police is planning to deploy an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to keep an eye on the 'Run for Unity' marathon. "The 5-km route of marathon passes through various sensitive areas of the city. Therefore, we are planning to use UAV with a powerful camera that can capture the entire area from above and close-up from 200 metres," City Police Commissioner Satish Sharma said.

At least 2,500 policemen and home guards, apart from six companies of State Reserve Police have been called to provide security, he said.

Vadodara District Collector Vinod Rao said, "It will be a unique event and we expect more than 1.85 lakh people to participate in the marathon. This will be a record in itself."

About 30,000 online registrations have been received for this event by Vadodara Municipal Corporation.

All the arrangements have been made at the huge Navlakhi compound located in the middle of the city for parking 20,000 vehicles and 5,000 two wheelers, he said.

Around 565 districts across the country including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Chandigarh and Pune are the major cities gearing up for the event on Sunday.

OneIndia News
(With PTI inputs)