Vadodara gears up for Run for Unity,one lakh may participate

On Thursday morning,Patel landed at the scheduled venue,Navlakhi ground,in the presence of Commissioner of Police Satish Sharma,District Collector Vinod Rao and organisers of the Vadodara Marathon,to finalise the arrangements for the big day.

Patel,who emphasised on the need to ensure that Modi’s big plans for the Run for Unity are taken care of,was especially concerned about the security of the ground,where the Chief Minister is expected to flag off the event. The organisers of the Vadodara Marathon,that included Chairperson Tejal Amin and her team,briefed Patel on the arrangements to ensure smooth flow of over 1 lakh people.

The event,which is expected to break an existing world record,will also have authorities from the Guinness Book of World Records witnessing the run.

“Our route is different from the Vadodara Marathon,although both the events will take place on the same day. The organisers of the marathon are helping out with this run,but it is a state government event,” Collector Vinod Rao said,adding,“We are expecting over one lakh people to attend the run. So a number of arrangements need to be made.”

Utmost priority,according to officials,will be the security of the chief minister. In fact,Patel was overheard telling organisers to ensure that the ground is barricaded without any breaches.

Meanwhile,Commissioner of Police Satish Sharma also said that security arrangements are being worked out.

Sources in the district administration,which will oversee the preparations for the event,said that although Modi was to flag off the Vadodara Marathon,like every year,plans have changed. According to a source,“The time gap between the Vadodara Marathon and the Run for Unity is almost an hour. The Run for Unity will begin only after the Marathon ends. The Chief Minister will not be here for that long. We have been told that Saurabh Patel will flag off the Vadodara Marathon and the Chief Minister will arrive later for the Run for Unity. This has left Marathon association very displeased.” When contacted,Chairperson Tejal Amin said,“So far as I know,Modiji will flag off both the events. But,we will have confirmation regarding his presence for the Vadodara Marathon only after December 5.”