Modi to inaugurate Olympian's 'Run for Unity' on Dec. 15

Vadodara: The "Run For Unity" marathon will be inaugurated by Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on December 15 in Vadodara.

"It will be a unique event and we expect more than 1.85 lakh people to participate in the marathon. This will be a record in itself," Vadodara District Collector Vinod Rao who is the organiser of the event told reporters today.

All arrangements have been made at the huge Navlakhi compound located in the middle of the city for parking 20,000 vehicles and 5 000 two wheelers, he said.

Youth and others have responded positively to the appeal made by Mr Modi to pay tribute to Sardar Patel on his 63rd death anniversary on Sunday, December 15, he said.

Mr Modi's effort to start a movement to collect iron for the Statue of Unity will be launched along with the event and it is scheduled to be completed before January 26, 2014, which is Republic Day.

Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Chandigarh and Pune are the major cities gearing up for the event on Sunday.