Jahnavi Priya, Class IV student, could hardly contain her excitement when Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu spoke on the stage right in front of her as he came to participate in ‘Ananda Deepavali’ celebrations held at Beach Road on Tuesday.
“All these days, I only saw him on the television but today I could listen to his speech sitting close to the stage,” says a visibly excited Jahnavi Priya.
Scores of children who came to witness a series of fireworks that lit up the evening sky as a part of pre-Deepavali celebrations hosted by Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department were a happy lot as even in his tight schedule, Mr. Naidu could squeeze time to inaugurate the programme which was initially cancelled.
K. Manogna, Class VIII student, defined the celebration as an unforgettable experience. “It’s a great experience to take part in Ananda Deepavali along with the Chief Minister as I draw inspiration from him,” she told The Hindu .
It was the first time that M. Satyavati, student of Government Residential School for Visually-Challenged Girls, met Mr. Naidu and received a packet of sweets from him on stage. Accompanied by her teacher, she said she never dreamt of such a rare opportunity.
Hailing the denizens for facing the Hudhud cyclone with a lot of grit and determination in 2014, Mr. Naidu recalled his experience he had while monitoring the relief and rehabilitation works by sitting inside a bus for eight-long days.
“Your discipline and perseverance made me celebrate Deepavali in advance in the city. When I called for a Deepavali without burning fire crackers in 2014 to avoid any fire mishap, people of Visakhapatnam extended all their support and hence I want to celebrate Deepavali this year with all of you,” Mr. Naidu stated.
He said efforts were afoot to develop Visakhapatnam as a financial hub. He later announced grievance redressal forum number 1100 and requested people to express their concerns through the forum.
HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao said a series of celebrations would be organised for the people of port city. MLAs V. Ramakrishnababu, Palla Srinivasa Rao, Bandaru Satyanarayana Murthy and Anakapalle MP M. Srinivasa Rao and ZP chairperson Lalam Bhavani, along with others took part in the celebrations.
