Visakhapatnam: Rallies, cleanliness drives, flash mob mark Gandhi's birth anniversary

Visakhapatnam: Flash mob, rallies and cleanliness programmes marked the 152nd birth anniversary celebrations of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi held at various places in Visakhapatnam.

Tourism Minister M Srinivasa Rao, Mayor G Hari Venkata Kumari, Municipal Commissioner G Srijana, MLA T Nagireddy, Deputy Mayor J Sridhar, among others paid floral tributes to the statue of Bapuji near GVMC office. Minister lauded the services offered by the volunteer system in Andhra Pradesh and mentioned that it had set an example for other States.

Marking the 152nd birth anniversary of Bapuji, Visakhapatnam district SP, B Krishna Rao, garlanded the portrait of Bapuji at the office. The SP said Gandhi stood by his principles and ideologies and carved a niche for himself at global-level.

ECoR

A number of programmes marked the Swachhta Diwas at Waltair Division as the fortnight-long Swachhta Abhiyan concluded on Saturday. General Manager of East Coast Railway Vidya Bhushan, Divisional Railway Manager Anup Kumar Satpathy, Principal Chief Personnel Officer TK Mondal, among others, paid floral tributes to Bapuji. A cleanliness programme was held at the stations wherein a large number of staff, officers and NGO representatives participated. A flash mob was featured by Rotary Club members.

RINL

Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) celebrated Gandhi Jayanti with enthusiasm at Ukkunagaram. CMD of the organisation Atul Bhatt garlanded the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at sector-8 of the township. He recalled the sacrifices, services and the high moral values of Mahatma Gandhi and said that he exhibited great patience and courage and encouraged people to be confident.

At NSTL, its Director Y Sreenivas Rao explained how Gandhiji innovatively used Satyagraha as a powerful weapon in fighting for freedom. Marking the occasion, financial assistance of Rs 15,000 was donated to an orphanage.

Meanwhile, CMD of Hindustan Shipyard Limited Hemant Khatri garlanded the statue of Gandhi in the presence of directors, employees of the HSL.

AU

Garlanding the statue of Gandhi, Andhra University Vice Chancellor PVGD Prasad Reddy said Gandhi laid emphasis on the powerful weapon 'non-violence'. The V-C said Gandhi's ideologies continue to inspire the younger generation. Meanwhile, a three-storey examination building was launched on the occasion. The RUSA (Rashtriya Uchhatar Shiksha Abhiyan) funded building was constructed at a cost of Rs 3.3 crore. Later, the V-C took part in the campus cleanliness drive and planted saplings. Fibre toilets at the sanitation wing were launched.

GITAM

Rich tributes were paid to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi here on Saturday at GITAM Deemed to be University.

The institution's president M Sribharath, vice-president M Gangadhara Rao, Vice-Chancellor K Sivaramakrishna, Pro V-C Jayasankar Variyar, Registrar D Gunasekharan, secretary M Bharadwaj, faculty members and non-teaching staff were present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, founder-president of the institution MVVS Murthi was remembered on his third death anniversary. Offering floral tributes to the statue of Murthi, the institution's president Sribharath urged the teaching and non-teaching staff to work sincerely to fulfill the vision of the founder in making GITAM the top global institution in higher education.

Khadi Haat

An exhibition-cum-sale of khadi products was launched at BJP's party office. Inaugurating it, BJP MLC PVN Madhav appealed to people to extend support to the artisans and weavers by investing in khadi products. Further he said, like Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was fond of khadi.