City painted in Tiranga shades as 76th R-Day celebrated grandly

Visakhapatnam: Flag-hoisting ceremonies, parades and inspiring talks formed a part of the 76th Republic Day celebrations organised at various institutions and organisations across Visakhapatnam on Sunday. At the Visakhapatnam Police Parade Grounds, the R-Day celebrations of the district administration were held in a grand manner.

Freedom fighters, Padma Award recipients, political leaders, judicial and administrative officials participated in the celebrations. District Collector MN Harendhira Prasad unveiled the national flag and received the guard of honour. In order to reflect the welfare and development schemes being implemented by the state government, nine tableaus were displayed under the aegis of various departments of the district.

Impressive cultural performances were presented by students of various schools and other artistes. Among the tableaux, ‘Swarna Andhra - Swachh Andhra and Swachh Visakha GVMC’ stood first, DRDA took the second place and Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority stood third. During the celebrations, the District Collector presented awards to 446 officers who rendered outstanding service in their respective fields.

ENC

On the occasion of the 76th Republic Day, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command (ENC) Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar reviewed a ceremonial parade at ENC, Visakhapatnam. In his address, the Commander-in-Chief reflected on the significance of the day, which marks India’s adoption of the Constitution on 26th January 1950, establishing the nation as a democratic republic. He urged all gathered to uphold the core values of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity enshrined in the constitution and to rededicate themselves to building a stronger and more prosperous India.

VPA

Visakhapatnam Port Authority celebrated the day at Port Stadium in a patriotic manner. M. Angamuthu, chairperson unfurled the national flag and received the guard of honour.

VMRDA

Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority Commissioner KS Viswanathan recalled the sacrifices made by the freedom fighters and paid tributes to them by hoisting the tricolour on the occasion.

Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, celebrated the 76th Republic Day with patriotic fervour at Trishna grounds at Ukkunagaram. AK Bagchi, Director (Projects) and additional charge Director (Operations), RINL unfurled the national flag.

VSEZ

As part of the R-Day celebrations, Srinivas Muppaala, Zonal Development Commissioner, Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone hoisted the national flag at the VSEZ premises. Speaking on the occasion, he lauded the efforts and services rendered by the developers/units/department and all the stakeholders, with whose efforts it has become possible to achieve the exports to the tune of Rs,1,77,533 crore during the period April 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024. The efforts of all the units heads, officers and support staff were appreciated for their contribution in making VSEZ as one of the best SEZs in the country and gave a call to maintain the same.

HPCL

HPCL Visakh Refinery executive director R Ramakrishnan unfurled the national flag at the premises and received guard of honour from the Central Industrial Security Force of Visakh Refinery Unit led by Hrishab Dewangan, Deputy Commandant-CISF. Addressing the gathering, Ramakrishnan mentioned key points related to progress made by India. He mentioned that the HPCL is marching forward, fuelling the nation’s growth. About 81 employees received awards for completing 15 to 40 years of service at the corporation.

APEPDCL

Chairman and Managing Director of APEPDCL Immadi Prudhvi Tej presented appreciation certificates to 120 employees of the APEPDCL for their contribution to the company. The CMD unfurled the national flag on the occasion.

NSTL

Dr. Abraham Varughese, Director of NSTL hoisted the national flag in the midst of scientists, officers. He recalled the patriotic heroes who sacrificed their lives for the nation. He appealed to the NSTL fraternity to follow the steps of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and commit themselves towards achieving Vikasit Bharat by developing state-of-the-art indigenous underwater weapons for the Indian Navy.

VIIT

Principal Sudhakar, Rector Madhusudhan Rao, Vignan’s Women’s College Principal Arundhati, School Principal Madhuri took part in the R-Day celebrations organised at Vignan’s Institute of Information Technology (VIIT).

At Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences, its director K Rambabu unfurled the flag on the occasion. Later, he received an appreciation certificate from District Collector MN Harendhira Prasad for his outstanding contribution.

Meanwhile, K Radha Krishnan, general manager and K Bangaru Raju, Deputy GM of the Sankar Foundation received the best NGO award on the occasion.

Vijnana Bharathi High School celebrated the R-Day with fervour. Renowned entrepreneur Rana Uppalapati unfurled the national flag marking the occasion. Inspiring the students, Rana Uppalapati shared his remarkable achievement of completing a 6000-km skate journey across India. He greeted boxing winners Lavanya and Pavan Sai. School Principal Mahalakshmi Vadrevu encouraged students to draw inspiration from great leaders and stay focused

on their goals.