Ahmedabad, Aug 14 (IANS) A large number of citizens carrying the Tricolour joined a Tiranga Yatra led by Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi in Vadodara on Friday, combining Independence Day celebrations with a message urging young people to stay away from drugs.
The yatra began at Navlakhi Ground and proceeded through Kirti Stambh and Lal Court before concluding at Gandhinagar Gruh.
The event was part of Gujarat’s wider Har Ghar Tiranga campaign, under which more than 1,200 Tiranga Yatras have been planned across the state during the Independence Day period.
The programme at Navlakhi Ground included patriotic cultural performances and balloon releases. People dressed as Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Rabindranath Tagore were among the attractions, with citizens applauding presentations depicting patriotism and India’s cultural heritage.
As the procession moved through the city, more citizens joined it while carrying the national flag.
Sanghavi paid floral tributes to the statues of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Mahatma Gandhi along the route, remembering their contributions to the freedom struggle and nation-building.
The Deputy Chief Minister also interacted with children and Divyang participants in the procession and appreciated their participation.
The presence of people from different sections of society reflected the campaign’s theme of unity.
Addressing participants, Sanghavi said: “The youth were the future and strength of the nation and urged them to contribute towards building a drug-free society. The government would continue to take strict action against drug mafias and that such elements would not be spared.”
The Brahma Kumaris administered a pledge to participants to stay away from addiction. The yatra concluded with an aarti of Bharat Mata.
Minister of State Manisha Vakil, Whip Balakrishna Shukla, Vadodara MP Hemang Joshi, Mayor Gitaben Makwana, MLAs Chaitanya Desai and Satish Patel, prominent leader Jayprakash Soni, Deputy Mayor Aditya Patel, Standing Committee Chairman Varsha Vyas, Police Commissioner Narasimha Komar, Municipal Commissioner Arun Mahesh Babu and Collector Anil Dhamelia were among those who participated in the event, along with other officials and dignitaries.
The Vadodara procession was part of a series of Tiranga Yatras organised across Gujarat in the run-up to Independence Day, with the state government announcing plans for more than 1,200 such processions and the display of the national flag at around 70 lakh homes.
–IANS
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