The announcement of Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu joining the walkathon organised by Andhra University Alumni Association (AAA) evoked good response with many participating in the event held on Saturday.
Unmindful of the winter breeze, several retired employees turned up in good numbers to walk along with the VVIPs from Matsya Darshini to YMCA.
Flagging off the walkathon early in the morning organised as a part of the third edition of alumni meet of AAA, he said: “From here, we rose to great heights and adorned various positions. Events such as these will help us (former students) meet, reminisce about our college days and plan for future.” More than 800 former students of AU from across 64 departments arrived at the venue near Matsya Darshini on beach road to take part in the walkathon.
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M. Ismail, alumnus of AU, said many of his batch-mates have come together for the event and they continue to stay connected with one another through WhatsApp groups. He joined the walkathon with a team of his classmates.
After covering the stretch from Matsya Darshini to YMCA, A. Radhakrishna Murthy, retired employee of Hindustan Shipyard Limited, said the platform will not only unite old friends but also aids in encouraging the former students to contribute to development of the university.
Some of the engineering students (1973 batch) recalled how they used to bond over playing cricket in those days. Ahead of the event, some of the AU students demonstrated warm up exercises.
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Mr. Naidu was accompanied by HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao, State BJP president and Visakhapatnam MP K. Haribabu, founder of GMR Group and AAA president Grandhi Mallikharjuna Rao, AU Vice-Chancellor G. Nageswara Rao and Registrar V. Uma Maheswara Rao, music composer and film-maker R.P. Patnaik, among several others.