By Binju Sitaula

    KATHMANDU, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- By the dawn of Friday morning, a brand new day of new year 2010, hundreds of thousand Nepali people gathered in an national stadium exchanging best wishes on the occasion of new year.

    The crowd purposefully hoarded in the stadium early in the morning to express their solidarity following the peace and harmony call from organizers of "peace marathon" here in capital Kathmandu.

    Madhan Bhandari Sports Academy (MBSA) organized a symbolic "peace marathon" to welcome the New Year 2010, which is the first event of the New Year 2010 in Nepal.

    "We have organized this "peace marathon" as a symbol, organizing this event we tend to call stable peace and harmony in our country," Ramesh Silwal, President of the MBSA told Xinhua earlier on Friday morning ahead of "peace marathon".

    The marathon inaugurated by Nepali President Ram Baran Yadav was collective voice of Nepali people urging authority to maintain peace and harmony in the country, to lead peace process in right track and to draft a new constitution at stipulate time frame with the arrival of New Year 2010.

    Highlighting the national slogan "sports for all", the organizers of "peace marathon" stressed on making sports as a part of the life. Organizers have declared 15,000, 10,000 and 5,000 Nepali rupees (202,135 and 67.5 U.S. dollars) reward to the first, second and third runner up of the competition respectively.

    On the occasion, President Yadav and Nepali Constituent Assembly Chairman Subash Nemwang stressed on national unity and urged political parties to be responsible toward state and people.

    Delivering the peace message on the occasion of New Year Yadav and Nemwang called on unity among parties to give peace process a logical end and to draft a new constitution at stipulated time frame.

    This is yet another year that Nepal is welcoming New Year in a peculiar way reminding country leaders, decision makers and general public about need of hour.

    "Since the marathon is symbolic, it is only 7 km run in the distance covering major locations of the capital city," he said.

    While some 300 professionals and amateurs runners, male and female both were participated in the marathon whereas more than 5,000 Nepali people belonging to various communities, profession and sectors were thronged to the march on a "peace marathon rally".

    "Our motto of organizing peace marathon focused on peace process of the country, drafting of new constitution at time and long lasting stability in the country. However, after naming it as a marathon we called upon two separate segment of this marathon organizing peace marathon on one side and peace marathon rally other side," Silwal added.

    Though the main organizer of the marathon is MBSA, thousands of other organizations related to human rights, political parties, religion, culture, youth organizations, and professionals, among others have also expressed their solidarity in the event making it as an national event, according to Silwal.

    Stable peace for a country is not possible within one day, so it is a long process which organizers have tried to prove organizing a "peace marathon".

    "We have appealed political parties and government to end violence and strikes and to be dedicated toward peace process," Silwal said.