The 68th Republic Day was celebrated with gaiety and pomp across the district on Thursday. The hoisting of the national flag at public and private offices, educational institutes and junctions, rallies, distribution of sweets, and felicitation of freedom fighters, officers, individuals, and volunteers who rendered selfless service to the people marked the occasion.
After unfurling the national flag on the Police Parade grounds, Collector Yogitha Rana said that the district has 27 mandals after the reorganisation of districts, with eight mandals being carved out from old mandals. The district bagged the number one spot in the implementation of the State government’s flagship plantation drive, Haritha Haram, by planting 3.52 crore saplings.
Earlier, the Collector received the guard of honour presented by Armed Reserve personnel and march-past by scouts and guides. Accompanied by Commissioner of Police Kartikeya, Ms. Rana watched the cultural programme staged by students of different schools. She also greeted freedom fighters and presented them with commendation certificates.
The TSSP 7th Battalion, Dichpally, Office Superintendent Yuganath, Reserve Sub-Inspector B. Obul Reddy, and Head Constable K. Srinivas received commendation certificates for their services from Ms. Rana on the occassion.
Ms. Rana and Mr. Rao complimented the personnel for their service.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) district president Eega Ganga Reddy, BJP leader Palle Ganga Reddy, Congress leader Taher bin Hamdan, and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Arkala Narsa Reddy hoisted the national flag at their respective offices.
Principal District and Sessions Judge Justice K. Sujana, Joint-Collector A. Ravinder Reddy, Mayor Akula Sujatha, and Vice-Chancellor of Telangana University P. Sambaiah unfurled the national flags at the District Court, Collectorate, Commissionerate, Nurses and Midwives Council (NMC), and TU campus respectively.
Meanwhile, the Railway Gate Protection Committee hoisted the national flag at Lalitha Theatre crossroads. After unfurling the tricolour there, TRS politburo member A.S. Posetty called for cooperation from all sections of society to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s efforts to make the State “Golden Telangana.”
Mr. Posetty said the administration has gone to the door steps of the people with the reorganisation of districts.
Warangal Special Correspondent adds: Patriotic fervour filled the air across the district on the occasion of the 68th Republic Day.
Warangal Rural Collector P.J. Patil hoisted the national flag at JNS ground and inspected the guard of honour. At the Police Parade ground, Warangal Urban Collector K. Amrapali unfurled the tricolour while schoolchildren presented a colourful cultural programme.
In Jangaon district, Collector A. Devasena hoisted the national flag at Dharmakancha ground. He later presented appreciation certificates to employees of different departments in recognition of their services.
In Bhupalpalli district, Collector A. Murali, and in Mahabubabad, Collector Preeti Meena hoisted the Indian flag and addressed the gathering.
In their Republic Day address, the Collectors listed out the initiatives taken up by the State government and highlighted flagship programmes such as Mission Kakatiya and Mission Bhagiratha. They also explained various welfare measures such as Shaadi Mubarak and Kalyanamastu, among others.
Republic Day was celebrated at various government and private institutes as well. At Kakatiya University, Vice-Chancellor R. Sayanna hoisted the tricolour and listed out the development programmes initiated by the university.
Adilabad Special Correspondent adds: Republic Day celebrations brought some much-needed relief to the audience at the Police Parade ground thanks to the truncated speech of Collector Buddha Prakash M. Jyothi on Thursday.
Reference to statistics was kept at the bare minimum to drive home the point that the State government was ushering in development through various measures.
“It was good that the audience got more time to see cultural items rather than sit through drab speeches,” said Md. Habeeb, a carpenter from Khursheednagar, who regularly attends the Republic Day and Independence Day programmes. “This is more like the speeches given by Collectors about two decades ago, which were inspiring as far as content was concerned and not laden with dull statistics,” he added.
Mr. Jyothi ended his speech with a verse from from a poem by Kaloji Narayan Rao. He recited it to underscore the need for working unitedly to move forward on the path of progress.
The Collector unfurled the national flag and took the salute from the ceremonial parade. He also visited stalls set up by various departments about the development taking place.
Accompanied by top officials in the administration, Mr. Jyothi watched the cultural programme by school students and presented certificates for meritorious work to government employees and officials.
Later, the Collector hosted an ‘At Home’ programme. District administration officialsand civilian personalities, among others, attended the programme which also featured music and dance.
Karimnagar Special Correspondent adds: On the occasion of Republic Day and completing 100 years of its formation, the Lions Club 320G members took out a rally carrying a 100-metre national flag in Karimnagar town on Thursday.
The rally was flagged off by Lions Club district governor Ch. Suresh at SRR Degree and PG College. About 100 club members and NCC cadets, among others, carried the flag from the college to the Police Parade ground where the Republic Day parade was conducted.
Collector Sarfaraz Ahmed and Commissioner of Police V.B. Kamalasan Reddy appreciated members of the Lions Club for promoting patriotism through the 100-metre flag.
Lions Club senior members B. Madhusudhan Reddy, Bomma Venkateshwar, Prakash Holla, Jagadeshwara Chary, and Peddi Vidyasagar also participated in the programme.
Khammam Special Correspondent adds: Proposals have been sent to the government for restoration of about 220 tanks and other water bodies in the district under the third phase of Mission Kakatiya, as part of the State government’s endeavour to enable small and marginal farmers make optimum use of minor irrigation sources, increase crop yields, and maximise farm income, said Collector D.S. Lokesh Kumar.
He was addressing a gathering at the Republic Day ceremony held here on Thursday.
Earlier, he hoisted the tricolour after receiving the guard of honour at the sprawling Police Parade ground. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kumar said as many as 283 works worth about ₹126 crore were completed as against a total of 296 taken up under the scheme in the first phase.
As many as 300 works have been taken up at a cost of ₹124 crore across the district under the scheme this year. About 158 tanks have been restored so far, he said, adding that the remaining work was progressing at a brisk pace.
Stating that the Bhakta Ramadasu lift irrigation (LI) scheme was set for commissioning, the Collector said the LI scheme would provide irrigation to around 60,000 acres in the upland areas of Khammam division.
Efforts are on to initiate works on the Sitarama lift irrigation project, which would help harness Godavari water optimally and expand the irrigation cover to all cultivable land.
Principal District and Sessions Judge Justice M. Lakshman, Superintendent of Police Shahnawaz Qasim, and others were also present.
