People of the city on Saturday celebrated in a grand scale the diamond jubilee of Hyderabad’s integration into the Indian union, with many paying their tributes to Telangana Thalli and the State’s freedom fighters in programmes organized across the city.
With the State government declaring a holiday on Saturday, school and college students also took part in the Telangana Jateeya Samaikyata Vajrotsavalu celebrations, with the programmes seeing garlanding of the Telangana Talli statue and freedom fighters being remembered. As part of the celebrations, temporary tents were raised in different parts of the city and pictures of freedom fighters were placed.
‘Jai Telangana, Jai Jai Telangana’ slogans rendered the air as colourful rallies with the fluttering tricolour were taken out on Saturday too as part of Telangana Jateeya Samaikyata Vajrotsavalu celebrations.
Meanwhile, in many places, people performed ‘palabhishekam’ by offering milk on cutouts of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. The ones who performed the ritual said the announcement made by the Chief
Minister to name the new integrated State Secretariat complex after the Father of the Indian Constitution, Dr BR Ambedkar, was a historic one.
On the occasion of National Integration Day, cheques from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund were also distributed in some wards of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation including Bharati Nagar.
There were celebrations held at the offices of the GHMC, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority, Telangana State Renewable Energy Development Corporation Ltd and other government departments, with department heads hoisting the national flag.
“Some people are conspiring to divide people on the basis of religion. We should not fall into their trap. Together we should retaliate against them by defeating their hate with wisdom,” Mayor G Vijaya Laxmi said after hoisting the national flag at the GHMC Head Office.
Meanwhile, officials of various departments are making arrangements for the cultural programmes that will be organised on Sunday as part of the Telangana Jateeya Samaikyata Vajrotsavalu celebrations.