The members of Hope Foundation and employees of Accenture took part in a walkathon, ‘Green Your Lives, Walk for a Cause,’ organised in the city on Sunday.

The walkathon aimed at creating awareness about a healthier and safer world. The “Go Green Campaign” was launched on the occasion.

The walkathon started from the Freedom Park and concluded at the same venue after covering a distance of 10 km.

Environmentalists who took part in the event said according to a study by New Delhi’s Tata Energy Research Institute, pollution in India can rise to alarming levels by the middle of the century unless some urgent steps are not taken to curb it.

With technological advancement, humans have progressed and along with this, there has been a phenomenal increase in the number of pollutants, they added. The air and noise pollution levels have gone up. According to figures with the Karnataka State Pollution Board (KSPCB), the level of air pollution in the city has increased exponentially, they claimed.

Whether it is residential areas, industrial zones or even sensitive areas like hospitals, the quality of air is poorer than the standard set by the board, they said.