Guwahati: Members of Khalsa Recreation Centre, a socio-cultural organisation, launched a 24x7 Khalsa Blood Donors' Group here on Friday.

The launch was announced aspart of martyrs' day observed by the centre, which also took out a bike rally here.

March 23 is observed as martyrs' day (Shaheed Diwas) to pay homage to Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar, who fought for India's independence from the British rule. They were hanged for a bombing, on this day in 1931.

The donors' group has pledged to help anyone from any community who is in need of blood, irrespective of their caste, creed, sex or religion at anytime of the day or night.

Altogether 25 youths pledged to donate blood regularly. The centre said such donors' groups will be launched in other cities of the region and the organisation has appealed to youths to come forward and enlist their names.

"The city has shortage of certified blood donors. There is a constant requirement for blood as it can be stored for a limited time only, before its use. Regular blood donations by adequate number of healthy people are required to ensure safe blood is always available whenever and wherever it is required," a blood bank official present at the event said.

There is a daily requirement of 300 units of blood in the city. Out of this, 10 to 15 per cent comes from voluntary donors and 30 to 40 per cent from replacement cells of various blood banks.

Three youths dressed as Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, accompanied by scores of youths sporting yellow dastaars took out a motorbike rally from Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha at Gopinath Nagar.

Khalsa Recreation Centre president P.P. Singh and Sikh Pratinidhi Board (Eastern Zone) chief advisor Sardar Satnam Singh rued the fact that although the martyrs laid down their lives for all the people, only the community to which a martyr belongs paid homage to his martyrdom.