‘Run for Unity’ flagged off by Nirmala Sitharaman

On the occasion, State ministers S P Velumani, D Jayakumar, P Balakrishna Reddy, Chennai Corporation Commissioner T Karthikeyan, Lok Sabha MPs S R Vijayakumar (Central Chennai) and J Jayavardhan (South Chennai) took an oath along with Nirmala Sitharaman.

She later flagged off the rally at the Island Grounds. Several school and college students besides general public participated in the run.

Elsewhere in the city, Governor Banwarilal Purohit paid tributes to the ‘Iron Man’ of India, by offering floral tributes to a decorated portrait of the late leader at a function held at the Raj Bhavan.

Southern Railway (SR) also celebrated the occasion with its General Manager R K Kulshrestha flagging off the ‘Run for Unity’ at Sivananda Salai.

Around 400 people from Southern Railway took part in the run that covered the stretch from the entrance of Doordarshan Kendra to MLA Hostel, Rajaji Hall, Government Multi Super Speciality Hospital at Omandurar Government Estate and back to Doordarshan Kendra.

Earlier, the General Manager administered the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas pledge to the Officers, staff, prominent sportspersons of Southern Railway and the students of Railway School.

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas was observed on this day every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel.

Similar runs were conducted at other divisions of Southern Railway at Salem, Tiruchy, Madurai, Palakkad and Trivandrum.