Deputy Speaker in the Assembly Mandali Budha Prasad on Thursday paid rich tributes to social reformer and atheist leader, Lavanam, at a memorial meeting here on Thursday.
Addressing the meeting to commemorate the late leader, who died on August 14, Mr. Prasad said Mr. Lavanam had initiated several constructive programmes to solve social issues in an effective way.
Other who spoke on the occasion included Director of Odisha-based Centre for Youth and Social Development Jagadanand, former Vice-Chancellor of Acharya Nagarjuna University Viyyanna Rao, Dalit poet Kati Padma Rao, former national president of Indian Medical Association G. Samaram, Mythri, former MP Chennupati Vidya and Ravi Sarada.
Recalling their close association with Mr. Lavanam, the speakers spoke at length about his remarkable contribution in reforming the ex-criminal settlements in Stuartpuram, how he helped eradicate Jogini system in remote villages of Nizamabad district with active support of his wife Hemalatha, a writer and a social activist in her own right, and the effective mechanisms he embraced to ward off social evils like untouchability.
