Tirupati, Chittoor Districts Observe 77th Republic Day

Tirupati: District administrations in Tirupati and Chittoor marked the 77th Republic Day on Monday by holding flag-unfurling ceremonies and police parades.

In Tirupati, the main programme was held at the Police Parade Grounds, where district collector Dr S. Venkateswar unfurled the National Flag and received the guard of honour after inspecting the police parade along with Superintendent of Police L. Subba Rayudu. Addressing the gathering, the Collector presented a brief report on district-level development and welfare activities.

Tableaux depicting government schemes were displayed by departments including agriculture and horticulture, industries, education, electricity, transport, police, health, fire services and the Tirupati Municipal Corporation. The electricity department won the first prize, followed by the Agriculture and Horticulture Department and the municipal corporation. Cultural programmes were presented by students from eight schools, with Sri Chaitanya School, Tirupati, securing the first prize.

Around 400 district officials, employees and police personnel were presented appreciation certificates and police medals for their services. Under the Velugu programme, bank linkage support of Rs 410.60 crore was distributed to 41,934 members belonging to 9,202 self-help groups. Under MEPMA, Rs 517.12 crore was extended as bank linkage to 3,814 women's self-help groups in urban areas.

In Chittoor, Republic Day celebrations were organised at the Police Parade Ground under the leadership of District Collector Sumit Kumar and Superintendent of Police Tushar Dudi. After unfurling the National Flag and inspecting the parade, the collector addressed the gathering and outlined development indicators.

He said that between April 2025 and January 2026, Rs 1,117.50 crore had been distributed to 2,67,481 beneficiaries under the NTR Bharosa pension scheme. Under the Talliki Vandanam scheme, Rs 335 crore had been provided to 2,23,201 beneficiaries. He said 1,822 works had been completed under the Jal Jeevan Mission at a cost of Rs 91 crore to provide drinking water connections. During 2025–26, 43.61 lakh person-days of employment were generated under MGNREGS, with wages amounting to Rs 118.55 crore.

The Red Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task Force has observed the Republic Day at its headquarters, where SP P. Srinivas unfurled the National Flag. He said the task force continued to work towards its objective of zero felling in the Seshachalam forests. Outstanding service medals and appreciation certificates were presented to personnel on the occasion.