Telangana celebrated its fourth formation day yesterday with Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao declaring that his goal was to free farmers from the loan trap.
The main official celebration was held at Parade Grounds in the state capital, where the chief minister unfurled the national flag and reviewed a colourful parade by police.
State ministers, MPs, legislators and other public representatives hoisted the Tricolour in the districts while the day was also celebrated with enthusiasm at government offices. The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the opposition parties also organised the celebrations at their respective offices to mark the day.
For the first time the Telangana Formation Day was also celebrated in schools as the government shortened the summer vacation to ensure opening of schools from June 1.
Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh as the 29th state of the country in 2014 after a long people’s struggle.
Rao, who was leading the movement since 2001, paid rich tributes to the martyrs of Telangana. In his address at the main official function, he recalled that the state was achieved after a struggle with the belief that only statehood to Telangana could change the destiny of its people.
KCR, as the TRS chief is popularly known, said his government implemented several welfare schemes during the last four years to help the people. He listed the programmes launched for the welfare of various sections of the society.
He spoke in detail about the schemes launched for farmers, the latest being the Rythu Bandhu scheme under which farmers will get Rs8,000 per acre each every year as crop investment support. He said this scheme brought smiles on the faces of farmers, who no longer need to borrow money for cultivation.