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On the run
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The Tiranga Run is designed to re-kindle patriotic emotions buried deep within, says G.V. Ramana Rao
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Photo: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar
Message loud and clear A profound message lies underneath the razzmatazz that the Tiranga Run promises to be
Denizens will wake up tomorrow to an ‘unfamiliar’ city where at least one individual in every household is gearing up to run. And who knows, the warm-up session might inspire others to toe the line and join scores of people running collec
tively to kindle nationalistic zeal that seems to be on the wane. The bedecked and spruced up Swaraj Maidan, from where the 10 k Tiranga Run will be flagged off on Sunday, will transform into a hotspot of many celebrities of national repute. Unprecedented planning has gone into the arrangements made along the Run route chalked out through the heart of the city. With over 30 registration centres springing up at different locations, the organisers have a reason to expect active participation of locals in the mega event. Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Union Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, Andhra Pradesh Governor N.D. Tiwari, industrialist Navin Jindal and veteran athletes like Milkha Singh and P.T. Usha have agreed to grace the jamboree.
Crooning glory
Singer Shankar Mahadevan and a couple of Little Champs from a reality show on Z channel will entertain the crowds at a cultural bonanza that promises to be a delightful treat for the guests, following the Run.
The winners of the Run will take home a prize-money of over Rs.15 lakhs. The entire district machinery is focused on the swish-swash exercise as working forces in groups swooped down the city to set things right overnight. Besides a massive outdoor campaign to promote the run, all shops and establishments along the route of the run have been asked to perch a Tricolour atop the concrete structures. National media is expected to throng the venue for a nationwide coverage while Doordarshan has offered a live telecast.
The Run organisers are on a high that reflects in the fanatical zeal with which they have been slogging it out.
Wide awake
Running has never been popular among Vijayawada denizens, the torrid climate being a major discouraging factor. Unlike their counterparts in metros like Mumbai and Hyderabad, the scorching sun has never allowed the locals to embark on a marathon. The objective to pay fitting tributes to Pingali Venkaiah, the man who designed the Indian National Flag aside, the local MP Lagadapati Rajagopal, whose brainchild the run is, has successfully stirred the sleeping city into swift action that can only benefit all.
The Tiranga Run is all about going on a patriotic trip the entertaining way. The aura of glitz and glamour that surrounds the main venue, the Swaraj Maidan, is in stark contrast to the de-glamorised motorcade rally to start at Bhatlapenumarru, a sleepy village in Krishna district where Pingali Venkaiah was born.
A series of events the preceded the Tiranga Run were to achieve the twin objective of creating awareness about the element of nobility that is associated with the event and not to let people depart from their nationalistic emotions.
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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