Patriotic spirit sweeps Tirupati ahead of Independence Day

Tirupati : Patriotic fervour has gripped the denizens across the pilgrim city ahead of 78th Independence Day celebrations to be held on Thursday. People have been participating in Har Ghar Tiranga initiative enthusiastically for the past few days. On Wednesday also, SPMVV organised a programme as part of this initiative in which Veer Naris were felicitated.

Now, stage is set for the historic I-day event and district-level celebrations will be held at Police parade grounds in the city on Thursday. Endowments Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy will be the chief guest at the celebrations, who will hoist the national flag and inspect the guard of honour.

He will give away meritorious certificates for government employees from various departments in recognition of their services. This is for the first time Ramanarayana Reddy will be hoisting the flag in Tirupati. The Minister has reached Tirupati on Wednesday night and will participate in I-Day celebrations from 9 am to 12 noon on Thursday. At 3 pm on the same day, he will leave for Nellore by road.

Ahead of the mega event, district Collector Dr S Venkateswar has instructed officials to finalise all arrangements. The Collector along with SP L Subbarayudu oversaw a mock drill rehearsal at the venue on Wednesday apart from inspecting the arrangements.

The Collector emphasised the importance of completing all necessary preparations to ensure the smooth execution of the event. Key components of the celebration include organising cultural programmes, setting up of stalls representing various departments and managing logistical aspects such as stage decoration, sanitation, drinking water and seating arrangements for attendees.

Joint Collector Shubham Bansal, Tirupati Municipal Corporation Commissioner N Mourya, DRO K Penchala Kishore, Additional SP Vimala Devi, Tirupati RDO Nishanth Reddy, DRDA PD Prabhavathi, District Education Officer V Sekhar and other district officials were present.

Meanwhile, the demand for national flags has surged during the past 3-4 days in the city. Several hawkers have been selling the flags on footpaths and at traffic signals. Responding to the call for ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’, people have been purchasing these tricolours to fly them on their houses. Schools and Colleges have also geared up for the celebrations and decorating their premises. Several state and central government offices were illuminated to mark the occasion.