Heritage walks and rallies marked the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations in the NTR and Krishna districts on Thursday.
Patriotic fervour reverberated at Gandhi Hill in the city as hundreds of students and NCC cadets along with officials and elected representatives marched towards the Gandhi Stupa atop the hill as part of the Heritage Walk under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations. Mayor Rayana Bhagyalakshmi, former Minister and local MLA Velampalli Srinivasa Rao, Municipal Commissioner Swapnil Dinakar Pundakar and others inaugurated a photo gallery arranged in the planetarium at the foot of the hill.
Later, led by the march past by NCC cadets from Atkinson Sr. Secondary School, hundreds of students from municipal schools, officials, corporators and others took part in the walk up to the Gandhi Stupa where the national flag was hoisted.
Winners of wall painting, essay writing, quiz and other competitions held by the VMC were given away prizes and appreciation certificates.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Swapnil said the heritage walk as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations was aimed at introducing Gandhi Hill, a historic place to the students. He called upon the citizens to take part in the Har Ghar Tiranga on August 13, 14 and 15 by displaying the national flag at their homes. He said ward secretariat staff would distribute the flags to the households and other establishments.
On M.G. Road, a large number of students took out a rally with a huge Tricolour from the Bapu Museum to City Armed Reserve (CAR) grounds where cultural programmes were organised. About 1,500 students of various educational institutions, including Nalanda Degree College, PB Siddhartha College of Arts and Science, SRR and CVR Govt. College, SDM Siddhartha Mahila Kalasala, Gandhiji Municipal High School and others took part in the rally and cultural events.
NTR district Collector S. Dilli Rao, MLA Malladi Vishnu and others took part in the celebrations. Mr. Vishnu said the city had a prominent role in the freedom struggle and Mahatma Gandhi visited the city at least 17 times before the Independence.
In Machilipatnam, a heritage walk was held by students. Collector P. Ranjit Basha inaugurated a photo exhibition on the national flag by the RTC Depot. A heritage rally was organised at the Buddha Stupa in Ghantasala village, Siddendra Yogi temple, Kuchipudi Kalakshetram and other places of importance in the district.
