Percept has partnered with Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA) to organize a charity cricket match that will feature a Celebrity XI Vs Doctors XI, to be held on May 25, 2009 at Police Gymkhana Grounds, Marine Lines, Mumbai.

 

The Match will be in a T-20 format and will begin at 6.00 PM. The charity match aims to raise funds for CPAA towards the fight against Tobacco that leads to cancer.

 

This was announced at a Press Conference that was held at Taj LandsEnd on Saturday, May 23, addressed by CPAA\'s Founder Chairman, Mr. Y K Sapru, Percept’s Joint Managing Director, Mr Shailendra Singh, IPS and ex The Director-General of Police, Maharashtra, Dr P S Pasricha, the WHO representative of India, Dr S J Habayeb and TV Star and Elder Pharmaceutical’s Anuj Saxena. The celebrities on the dais included Sohail Khan, Milind Soman and Aftaab Shivdasani.

 

Other celebrities who turned up for the cause included Neetu Chandra, Bappi Lahiri, Bakhtyaar Irani, Arjan Bajwa and Raima Sen.

 

The cricket match hosted by the Cancer Patients Aid Association between actors and doctors, is in keeping with its annual celebration of World No-Tobacco Day. The event started on a serious note with Y K Sapru, Chairman, CPAA, revealing startling statistics about cancer due to tobacco consumption. He then went on to talk about how the cricket match will aim to generate awareness about the perils of tobacco. The afternoon concluded with a showcase of interesting advertorial campaigns created by some of the best talents in the country, to spread word about the cause.

 

Percept will be the title sponsor for the Charity Match. Shailendra Singh and Vinod Kambli will lead the Doctors XI while Sohail Khan and Aftaab Shivdasani would lead the Celebrities XI, which include Ritesh Deshmukh, Milind Soman, Zayed Khan, Suniel Shetty, Javed Jaffery, Chetan Hansraj, Aman Verma, Cyrus Broacha, Bakhtiyar Irani amongst others.

 

May 25, 2009 incidentally marks the death anniversary of Shri Mangal Singh, father of Mr Shailendra Singh, who passed away last year due to Cancer. Addressing the media on the occasion, Mr Shailendra Singh said, “Raising awareness about the ills of tobacco could go a long way in reducing this evil to an extent. At Percept, we have banned smoking of employees around its premises and surrounding areas.”

 

In a unique gesture, he also asked the 150-strong media gathering and guests in the house to take a pledge to not smoke atleast for the next 24 hours, which could be a start to creating a healthy India.

 

Mr Harindra Singh (Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Percept Limited) and Ms Saroj Singh (Wife of Late Shri Mangal Singh) would present the Trophy to the winner of Percept Cup 2009.