Bhubaneswar: A four-kilometre marathon -Stop-A-Thon – will be organised May 27 by A New Hope and Institute for Social Development to create awareness about acid attack survivors. The objective of the event is to bring people together to inform them about increasing acid attacks and their impact on the lives of survivors, said Biswambharnath Naik, founder of A New Hope. “We request all conscious people to bring acid attack survivors from their localities along with them,” he added.
Talking to Orissa POST, Pramodini Roul from Jagatsinghpur said there are 52 reported acid attack survivors in Odisha, but there are many more victims across the state. “We have to extend government aid to all such survivors who are facing hardship,” she added.
Since the marathon is a fitness event, acid attack victims of all ages can benefit from the programme which will create awareness about the cause and help raise funds through donations from the participants, said Naik. The marathon will be flagged off at Kalinga Stadium and culminate at the same place. There will also be a Zumba session involving trainers who will impart fitness lesions.
Institute for Social Development director Subashree Das said acid attack victims are entitled to monetary benefit of Rs 3 lakh each in addition to free treatment. However, many victims have not received proper relief. “We have recently protested near PMG demanding employment and skill development programmes for acid attack survivors and constitution of fast track courts for delivery of speedy justice,” she said