Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu remembered in Ongole

Ongole: The district administration, public and private organisations paid rich tributes to the son of the soil, freedom fighter and the first Chief Minister of the Andhra state, Tanguturi Prakasam on Friday, celebrating his 148th birth anniversary.

The Ministers Balineni Srinivasa Reddy, Adimulapu Suresh garlanded the statue of Prakasam Pantulu in the collectorate and paid tributes to him. Balineni said that the services of Prakasam in the freedom movement and as the Chief Minister of the State cannot be forgotten.

He advised the public to follow in the footsteps of the Prakasam and to strive for the realisation of his ideology. He assured that the government will provide all facilities to Prakasam University, announced for the district. Suresh said that the district, which is formed with the backward areas from other district, is still backward and no development is done though it is named after Prakasam Pantulu.

He announced that the YSRCP government will definitely develop the district and they are planning it. He announced that they are going to provide posts and funds for the Prakasam University, which the earlier government has failed to provide.

He also said that they are going to conduct classes for the IIIT Ongole in the town from this academic year. He also promised to develop the Vinodarayuni Palem, the village in which Prakasam Pantulu was born, in the following days.

Collector Dr Pola Bhaskara, grandson of Prakasam Tanguturi Gopala Krishna, MLAs TJR Sudhakar Babu, Dola Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy, SP Siddharth Kaushal and other district officers also paid rich tributes to the freedom fighter. After the inspection of the photo exhibition, the Ministers along with the officials participated in the programmes arranged at the Vinodarayuni Palem, the birthplace of Prakasam and Devarampadu, the village from which he led the Salt Satyagraha, to mark the birth anniversary celebrations of the Tanguturi Prakasam.

The ministers and other officers also participated in the birth anniversary celebrations at the statue of Tanguturi Prakasam at Lawyer Pet Saibaba temple organised by the Lions Club of Ongole Citizens. They distributed blankets sponsored by the Lions Club to poor people.

The OSD of Andhra Kesari Tanguturi Prakasam University N Sanjeeva Rao, special officer of the Acharya Nagarjuna University campus in Ongole Dr G Somasekhara and others offered flowers to the photograph of the Prakasam Pantulu on the university campus.

The district additional SP K Mahendrapatrudu, SB and AR staff paid rich tributes to Prakasam Pantulu at District Police Office while the Police Training College principal SP M Sundara Rao, additional SP P Bijoy, and their staff paid tributes to the freedom fighter by garlanding his photo in the college.

The Ongole unit of All India Mahatma Social Club garlanded the statue of Prakasam Pantulu at Lawyer pet Rythu Bazaar and called the public to take inspiration from the Prakasam pantulu and lead the selfless life.