Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu led the state in celebrating Independence Day by unfurling the national flag at Anantapur.
He reviewed the colourful parade by the police and took salute at the main official ceremony at the Police Training College.
Tableaux highlighted various programmes and schemes of different departments. The ceremony showcased the state’s rich culture.
Naidu announced a package for the overall development of the backward district of Anantapur. As Anantapur records second least rainfall in the country, he vowed to free the district from drought.
Naidu’s cabinet colleagues, MPs, legislators and top officials attended the ceremony. Before reaching the venue of the main celebration, the Chief Minister garlanded a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the town.
As Vijayawada, the current fuctional capital of the state is busy with ‘Krishna Pushkaram’, the government choose Anantapur was the venue for the main official function.
In 2014, a couple of months after the state’s bifurcation, the main Independence Day function was held in Kurnool, which was once the capital of the erstwhile Andhra state.
The Independence Day celebrations were held in all 13 districts of the state. State ministers unfurled the national flag in district headquarters.
YSR Congress party President Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy unfurled the tricolor at a function held at the party office in Hyderabad.