A spirit of patriotism wafted through the air even as tricolours were fluttering atop buildings, vehicles and in the hands of Indians in the city, ahead of the singing in unison the National Anthem. As the clocks on mobile phones and wristwatches struck 11.30 a.m., crossroads, office buildings, residential spaces, and educational institutions came alive with people, some saluting the National Flag, singing the National Anthem.
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Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, as a part of the Swatantra Bharata Vajrotsavalu, along with a phalanx of public representatives, reached the General Post Office at Abids Circle a little before 11.30 am. He visited the garlanded statue of Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, where he paid his respects to the first Prime Minister of India.
As the buzzer went off at 11.30 am sharp, the CM along with Home Minister Mohammad Mahmood Ali, Chairman of the Vajrotsava Committee K Keshava Rao, and other ministers including Srinivas Goud, E. Dayakar Rao, as well as Hyderabad Parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi, sang the National Anthem.
Thousands of the members of the public, carrying the tricolour, who had converged at the venue, that included students from schools and colleges, joined them.
The city came to a halt as Hyderabadis and those who have made the city their home responded, with patriotic fervour and sang the National Anthem at several crossroads. Cars, two-wheelers, three-wheelers and buses stopped at these junctions as commuters’ voices became a chorus. While these scenes were witnessed across the city, some of the places include Banjara Hills Road Number 12 T Junction, Chandrayagutta, I. S. Sadan, Panjagutta, Jubilee Hills Checkpost, K. B. R. Park Circle and Jahanuma.