Speaking on the occasion, Sanjiv Rai, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, IL&FS Rail Ltd said, “Life is precious and we all want to live a healthy and better life. In communities across the world, there is a growing need and responsibility to provide options that give people the opportunity to walk and to feel safe while commuting. We urge people to walk to our stations, and take the Rapid Metro which is more convenient, safe and comfortable. Less number of vehicles will ensure less pollution, better average speed, fuel saving and lesser accidents.”

The main objective was to promote walking. Individuals and organizations plant the seeds for initiating change by creating awareness about pedestrian issues and alert others to the benefits of walking.

“Walking also promote use of public transport, unless people get into habit of walking, they will not use public transport. Walking is good for Health & Environment but walking is unsafe today on many roads as pedestrians get low priority on roads and footpaths don’t exist or are encroached or are dirty,” the press release added.

This year, many companies have joined hands with IL&FS Rail to promote the habit of walking among Gurgaon residents which include Siemens, Artemis Hospitals, Ansal University, Vodafone, 3C, Micromax and Gurgaon citizen council.

The Rapid Walk saw participation of around 1,000 people. Among the walkers were people like Mr. Alok Mittal, Joint Commissioner of Police, Gurgaon. Further, the walk also saw TV and film celebrities including Hussain kuwajerwala, Gaurav Gera and Sweta Gulati of Kingdom of Dreams fame along with Sweta Bhardwaj who has worked in films like Mission Istanbul and Players.

At the end of the event, Mr. Rai along with the celebrities distributed prizes in categories, such as Full Family Participation Award, Artemis Women Walker, and the most enthusiasts Walkers among oldest walkers was given to a 72-year-old person while the youngest Walkers award was given to a three-year-old girl.