Coimbatore joined the nation in celebrating the 64 Republic Day. Collector M. Karunagaran hoisted the national flag at the VOC Park Grounds on Saturday to mark the inauguration of the celebrations.
He accepted the guard of honour from the police, Armed Reserve police, Home Guards, personnel from the Fire and Rescue Services Department, Prisons Department, Red Cross and National Cadet Corps cadets.
Mr. Karunagaran presented the Chief Minister’s medal to 72 persons from various departments for their exemplary performance.
He presented aids and appliances to differently abled persons, wedding assistance to 20 beneficiaries, and free patta.
In all, he gave away benefits worth Rs. 58.21 lakh to 162 persons. He also honoured freedom fighters. Students of various schools and colleges staged cultural shows.
Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore City, A.K. Viswanathan, Inspector General of Police, West Zone, T.P. Sundaramoorthy, Superintendent of Police E.S. Uma, District Revenue Officer K. Karpakam and other officers were present.
Students from Bishop Upaharam Higher Secondary School, Coimbatore Cloth Merchants’ Association Government Higher Secondary School, P.S.G.R. Krishnammal Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Ondipudur, Sri Dayanandapuri Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chandra Matriculation Higher Secondary School, and Corporation Girls’ Higher Secondary School, R.S. Puram, danced to patriotic and popular songs to treat the gathering.
Mr. Karunagaran presented certificates to representatives of managements of the schools from which the students performed.
In the Coimbatore Corporation, the Republic Day celebrations began with Mayor S.M. Velusamy hoisting the tricolour at the Corporation main office in Town Hall.
Deputy Mayor Leelavathi Unni, chairpersons of various zones and committees were present.
Also present were councillors and staff from engineering, education, health and other wings.
According to a release, students from five Corporation schools presented cultural programmes that highlighted the tradition and culture of the country.
Mr. Velusamy then presented prizes to students who performed well in various competitions.
M. Shahul, Deputy Director, Western Region, Fire and Rescue Services, hoisted the national flag at the Coimbatore South fire station.
He spoke about the department’s contribution.
Republic Day celebrations were also held in Tamil Nadu Agricultural University where Vice-Chancellor K. Ramasamy hoisted the national flag, Bharathiar University and Avinashilingam University.
Tirupur
Ceremonial parade, honouring of freedom fighters, and cultural programmes by students marked the Republic Day celebrations organised by district administration at the Chikkanna Government Arts College grounds here on Saturday.
Collector G. Govindaraj hoisted the national flag and inspected the guard of honour given by the police in the presence of Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar Singh.
Mr. Govindaraj gave away Chief Minister’s constabulary medal to 14 police head constables employed in the district and disbursed welfare assistance worth Rs 1.06 crore to 317 people under various government-sponsored schemes.
The programmes came to a close with a colourful display of dances and band by students of Pem Matriculation HSS, Palaniammal Corporation Girls HSS, A.V.P.Trust HSS, Tirupur Deaf and Dumb School and Kathiravan Matriculation HSS, all from Tirupur; St. Thomas Higher Secondary School, Avinashi; Kongu Matriculation HSS, Uthukuli; R.K.R. HSS, Udumalpet; N.C.P.Municipal HSS and Vivegam HSS from Dharapuram.
District Revenue Officer R. Gajalakshmi and district-level officers of different departments were present.
Mayor A. Visalakshi hoisted the national flag and garlanded the statue of Tirupur Kumaran in the presence of Deputy Mayor S. Gunasekaran and Commissioner K.R.Selvaraj, to mark the Republic Day celebrations of Tirupur Corporation.
The administration also organised a rally by students in the city.
