Patriotic zeal pervaded public attitude while officials displayed solemn pride as they celebrated Republic Day in the delta districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, and Nagapattinam on Monday.
In Thanjavur, District Collector N. Subbaiyan unfurled the tricolour at the Armed Reserved Grounds in the morning and distributed government welfare steps to identified beneficiaries. The Collector accepted the guard of honour and reviewed the parade.
He then honoured the descendants of freedom fighters and gave away meritorious awards to 30 select police personnel and other public servants. Dr. Subbaiyan gave away Rs. 46.80 lakh worth welfare measures to 324 beneficiaries under the aegis of various departments.
A cultural extravaganza highlighting patriotic fervour caught the imagination of the spectators, including some foreign tourists, who thronged the venue to catch a glimpse of the celebrations. Around 400 students from various schools participated in the cultural events.
Superintendent of Police G. Dharmarajan, District Revenue Officer P. Chandrasekaran, District Judge Muhammed Ali, Assistant Superintendent of Police Deepa Karnikar, Assistant Collector (Training) Arun Thamburaj, Mayor Savitri Gopal, District Panchayat Chairperson Amudharani Ravichandran and Project Director of District Rural Development Agency, Srinivasan were present.
At the Thanjavur City Corporation complex, the Mayor hoisted the tricolour and distributed sweets among participants at the celebrations. Corporation Commissioner Kumar and councillors were present. At the Republic Day celebrations held on the Tamil University campus, Vice-Chancellor M. Thirumalai unfurled the tricolour and distributed welfare steps among employees in the presence of Registrar Ganeshram, academic staff, other employees, and students.
In Nagapattinam, District Collector S. Palanisamy hoisted the tricolour at the stadium, reviewed the guard of honour, and took the salute at an impressive march past presented by the Armed Reserve, and Fire and Rescue Personnel, Home Guards, and the NCC.
The Collector honoured 15 freedom fighters and their descendants, five language martyrs, gave away the Chief Minister’s award to 17 police personnel for meritorious service besides honouring 64 constables, 40 men from the Fire and Rescue Services, and seven men from the Home Guards in recognition of their service and duty.
In all, Mr. Palanisamy gave away Rs. 1.27 crore worth government welfare steps to 246 beneficiaries on the occasion.
Superintendent of Police Abhinav Kumar, District Revenue Officer A. Benjamin Babu, and Project Director of District Rural Development Agency A. Shankar, Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation senior regional manager M. Radhakrishnan, and Nagapattinam Municipal Chairperson Manjula Chandramohan participated.
Schoolchildren presented a cultural carnival while police personnel and dog squad displayed their talents.
In Tiruvarur, District Collector M. Mathivanan hoisted the tricolour and reviewed a guard of honour and accepted the salute at the march past by police and other columns at the main function held at the stadium in the Collectorate Master Complex. Superintendent of Police Jayachandran accompanied the Collector.
Then Mr. Mathivanan honoured freedom fighters and their legal heirs with shawls and distributed benefits among the identified beneficiaries through various departments. He gave away Chief Minister’s Medal for meritorious service to police and Fire and Rescue Services personnel besides handing over certificate of merit to public servants for commendable discharge of duty.
District Revenue Officer T. Mohan Raj was present. Schoolchildren presented a range of eye-catching cultural programmes to round off the celebrations.
Mr. Mathivanan disbursed welfare measures to the tune of Rs. 1.50 crore to 600 identified beneficiaries on the occasion.
