Volunteer system role model for other States: Balineni Srinivasa Reddy

Ongole: The services of the volunteers working in the ward and village secretariats are unforgettable, said minister for energy, environment, forests, science and technology, Balineni Srinivasa Reddy.

He inaugurated the award distribution programme for the Ongole Assembly constituency volunteers by lighting the lamp, at the Spandana Hall in the Collectorate on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that the volunteer system introduced by the Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has become a model to the other States in the country and praised the volunteers who rendered their services for the last 20 months.

He said that the Chief Minister brought the volunteer system to provide all benefits to the eligible and poor irrespective of their political affiliation and the volunteers are receiving blessings from the public with their impartial services. He said that Jagan believes the volunteers more than the MLAs of the party and advised them to keep faith in him as they would get benefit in future. He asked them to protect themselves from the coronavirus now and advised them to create awareness in the public.

The volunteers are playing a crucial role in delivering the welfare schemes to the public, opined the Ongole MP MaguntaSrinivasulu Reddy. He said that the public chose YS Jagan Mohan Reddy as the Chief Minister and he wants to implement the Navaratnalu schemes effectively through the volunteer system. He appreciated the services of volunteers in the lockdown period last year and said that their efforts will not be forgotten by the people.

The collector Dr Pola Bhaskara said that the volunteers have bridged the gap between the poor and the welfare schemes. Now the public are receiving the schemes at their doorstep with the help of volunteers, without visiting the government offices, he added. He said that the Chief Minister designed the system to utilise the energy of the youth for social service. He remembered the Chief Minister praising a volunteer Issac, from Santhanuthalapadu, for giving the pension to a beneficiary by going to Hyderabad. He said that they would present the awards to volunteers for 10 days from April 14.

Mayor Gangada Sujatha said that the volunteer system cemented its place in history by bringing the government services to the doorstep of the beneficiaries. She said that it is appreciable for the government to recognise their services in the lockdown and presenting the awards to them.

SP Siddharth Kaushal said that the volunteers received global recognition as the international media covered their services during the pandemic. He appreciated that the volunteers are very cooperative with the police in keeping the law and order and wished they would continue the services in a similar manner in the future also. Joint collector TS Chetan appreciated the services of the volunteers and encouraged them to work more actively in future.

The minister presented Seva Vajra awards to five volunteers, SevaRatna awards to 20 volunteers and Seva Mitra awards to 1,370 volunteers from the constituency and felicitated them.

ZP CEO T Kailash Giriswar, deputy mayor Vemuri Suryanarayana, OMC commissioner K Bhagyalakshmi, ZP deputy CEO Sai Kumari, corporators and other officials also participated in the programme.