Hundreds of Calcuttans from different walks of life walked close to 2km around Victoria Memorial on Thursday morning to raise awareness on the need to fight and prevent diabetes.

The 10th edition of the Kolkata Walkathon, in association with The Telegraph, saw more than 800 participants.

The walk is held every year on November 14 to mark World Diabetes Day. Recent studies have shown that more than 12 per cent of the adult population, more so in urban areas, in the country have diabetes.

One of the star attractions of the walk was Uday Kumar, who has a prosthetic limb. He lost his left leg in a train accident in 2015.

Kumar, a Belghoria resident, started taking part in marathons and walkathons from November 2018. He has completed 25 such events. Earlier this week, he had completed the Darjeeling Hill Marathon 2019.

The Calcutta police band played Kadam kadam badaye ja to enliven the participants during a warm-up session before the walkathon. A zumba session with peppy Bollywood numbers, too, was part of the warm-up session.

The walk saw a sizeable number of the elderly, many of whom are members of Pronam, the city police’s project for senior citizens. Most of the elderly participants matched steps with the youngsters.

“This inspiring event serves the UN Sustainability Development Goal 3 — good health and well-being,” Suborno Bose, chief mentor of IIHM, and one of the partners of the walkathon, said.

“Daring to be disease-free doesn’t cost a dime. But it takes willpower and this day is an annual self-contract for healthy and holistic lifestyle,” Krishnendu Banik, CEO, EMG, the organisers of the event, said.