Bhubaneswar: Separated from their children, a group of parents from across the country organised the third edition of a walkathon called ‘HopeWalk 3.0’ from Bhubaneswar to Puri, praying they will be able to reunite with their sons and daughters. They are supposedly suffering from ‘parental alienation,’ where one parent intentionally portrays unjustified negativity toward the other.
“Parental alienation has resulted in severe suffering for both children and separated parents. It has a lasting negative impact on our children,” said Sanjeev Panda, the coordinator of the walk.
The walk on Sunday featured former MP and actor Anubhav Mohanty. He said they started their first walk with five fathers from the state in 2022. Subsequently, 18 parents took part in the second edition in 2023. “This year, 40 distressed parents from places like Kolkata and Chennai are joining the walk,” said Mohanty.
Panda, separated from his wife, has been struggling for the past four years to meet his 13-year-old son. He alleged that the last time he tried to meet his son at school, his wife’s family lodged a harassment complaint against him.

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