Hundreds of officials, students and members of the public watched the Indian flag unfurled by Collector T. S. Rajasekar when 73rd Independence Day was celebrated with patriotic fervour here on Thursday.
The event was marked by distribution of various welfare measures, felicitation of best performers in government departments and honouring of freedom fighters.
The Collector took the salute and inspected the parade by contingents of police and the National Cadet Corps at the Armed Reserve Police Grounds. He was accompanied by Superintendent of Police N. Manivannan.
After the parade, the Collector honoured 112 freedom fighters. He went on to distribute assistance worth ₹40.05 lakh to 124 beneficiaries. A three-wheeler costing ₹58,840was given to a differently abled recipient.
A total of ₹20.04 lakh was distributed to six beneficiaries of Agriculture and Horticulture departments. Three ex-servicemen were given ₹3 lakh.
Collector’s award was presented to 132 government employees. Su. Venkatesan, MP, Additional Collector and Project Director of District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) S. P. Amrit, District Revenue Officer P. Selvaraj, Deputy Inspector General of Police Z. Annie Vijaya and Deputy Commissioner (Law and Order) V. Sasi Mohan and other officials were present at the function.
Students from government schools and colleges presented a colourful cultural programmes.
Image of Gandhi
Elsewhere in the city, about 450 children aged below five years stood in a formation to present an aerial view of the face outline of Mahatma Gandhi. The students belonged to 40 preschools under Madurai Preschool Welfare Association headed by M. Calvary Thiagarajan. A total of 500 saplings were distributed to the children.
Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president N. Jegatheesan and president of Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Merchants’ Association S.P. Jeyapragasam hoisted the tricolour on their premises.
Madurai Kamaraj University Vice-Chancellor M. Krishnan hoisted the flag at the university. students put up a vibrant cultural programme.
Independence Day celebration were also held at Madurai Kamaraj University College, Thiagarajar College, American College, Yadava College, E M. Gopalakrishna Kone Yadava Women’s College, M.S.S. Wakf Board College, Maharishi Vidya Mandir School, Al- Ameen School and other institutions across the city.
