As many as 1,100 volunteers from 26 districts of Andhra Pradesh carried rice, soil and saplings in 824 urns for ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ campaign being organised at New Delhi.
The South Central Railway (SCR) Vijayawada Division arranged the Amrit Kalash Yatra Special train from Vijayawada to Delhi.
MLA Velampalli Srinivasa Rao, Mayor Rayana Bhagyalakshmi, Divisional Railway Manager Narendra A. Patil, and Collector S. Dilli Rao flagged off the special train here on Saturday.
Students of various schools organised a Tiranga rally with 1.5-km-long flag and formed a human chain on the occasion. Children from the municipal and private schools, and Bharat Scouts and Guides took part in the programme with enthusiasm.
The railway station, which was decked up for the event, reverberated with the chants ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Ek Bharat Sreshth Bharath’. Children performed Kuchipudi and other traditional dances at the railway station.
The DRM lauded the Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav initiative and said Meri Maati Mera Desh campaign promoted unity, brotherhood and patriotism among the citizens of the country.
“Amrit Vatika at New Delhi will become the grand symbol of ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’, reflecting our cultural fabric of unity in diversity, and to recall the sacrifices made by the freedom fighters for the nation,” he said.
Vijayawada Municipal Commissioner Swapnil Dinakar, Sub-Collector Aditi Singh, BJP State vice-president V. Surya Narayana Raju, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager V. Rambabu, officers of Department of Culture and other departments participated in the programme.
