Maharashtra celebrates 62nd Republic Day

MUMBAI - Maharashtra celebrated the 62nd Republic Day with patriotic fervour and enthusiasm Wednesday with Governor K. Sankaranarayanan unfurling the national flag at Shivaji Park here.

Sankaranarayanan took salute from the security forces at an impressive parade in Dadar in central Mumbai, which also saw participation of more than 200 school children.

Schools, colleges and institutions hoisted the national flag followed by cultural programmes in the morning.

The national flag was hoisted in Malegaon, in Nashik district, amid tight security and homage was paid to the district additional collector Yashwant Sonawane who was burnt alive by the oil mafia Tuesday.

The flag hoisting ceremony also took place at all district headquarters of the state that was attended by the general public.

Extending his greetings to the people of Maharashtra on the 61st anniversary of the Indian Republic, Sankaranarayanan noted that the state has always been a leader in all walks of life, whether social reform, struggle for independence, reformist thinking or development.

“The state government is committed to meet the legitimate development aspirations of people and to further improve their standard of living,” he said after the flag hoisting ceremony.

“The government has decided to benchmark districts on the basis of Human Development indicators and is planning to publish Human Development Report of each district to ascertain their levels of development. The report will serve as the basis for making future developmental allocations,” he added.

The function was attended by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and several other state ministers.