Noida marks Women’s Day with Pink Marathon

The participants of the marathon organised at the Noida Stadium in Sector 21A were distributed pink T-shirts and caps before the start of the 2km race, officials said

Nearly 1,000 women wearing pink T-shirts participated in the ‘Pink Marathon’ organised by the Noida authority on the occasion of the International Women’s Day. The authority also handed out cash prizes to three winners in each of the five categories.

Nearly 1,000 women wearing pink T-shirts participated in the race organised by the Noida authority. (Sunil Ghosh /HT)

The participants of the marathon organised at the Noida Stadium in Sector 21A were distributed pink T-shirts and caps before the start of the 2km race, officials said.

According to the officials, at 7.20am, the first category participants in the age group of 18 to 30 years were flagged off by the officials. After that, at an interval of every 10 minutes, the second (age group of 31-40 years), third (41-50 years), fourth (51-60 years) and fifth (above 60 years) categories were flagged off for the race. The first, second and third winners in each category were awarded with cash prizes of ₹15,000, ₹11,000 and ₹5,100, respectively.

“Organising the women’s marathon is the Noida authority’s way of honouring all women residents of the city. The large participation by the residents made the event successful,” said Ritu Maheshwari, chief executive officer, Noida authority.

The participants said that the environment at the marathon was lively and energetic.

“Such events should be regularly organised in the city. Participating in the race made me feel young,” said Anusuya Singh (52), a resident of Sector 61 who participated in the 51-60 years age category.

Two transgender persons also participated in the event. “I am thankful to the Noida authority that they gave us an opportunity to participate in the Pink Marathon. It shows that our society has become more inclusive towards the third gender,” said Mannat (35), a transgender who participated in the event.

Cops felicitate women achievers at Noida Haat

On the occasion of the International Women’s Day, the Gautam Budh Nagar police organised a felicitation ceremony at the Noida Haat in Sector 33A. Women working in different fields were honoured at the event. The chief guest of the event was Akanksha Singh, wife of police commissioner Alok Singh, who was also honoured for her social work, especially working for the underprivileged.