South Central Railway's Vijayawada division observes 67th Mahaparinirvan Diwas of Dr BR Ambedkar

Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) [India], December 6 : South Central Railway, Vijayawada Division, observed the 67th Mahaparinirvan Diwas of Bharat Ratna Dr BR Ambedkar on Wednesday at the Divisional Railway Auditorium in Andhra Pradesh's Vijayawada.
"Narendra A Patil, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Vijayawada Division, graced the occasion, as Chief Guest D Srinivasa Rao, Additional Divisional Railway Manager (ADRM), Infrastructure and M Srikanth, ADRM, Operations, were guests of honour," as per a press release from the South Central Railways.
At the outset, M Bala Muralidhar, Senior Divisional Personnel Officer (Sr DPO), welcomed Chief Guest Narendra A Patil, DRM, and other dignitaries to the dais. DRM and ADRMs paid homage by garlanding the portrait of Dr BR Ambedkar and by lighting the lamp.
Floral tributes were also paid by all the branch officers, representatives of the SC/ST Association and trade unions to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar to mark his death anniversary.
"Addressing the large gathering present on the occasion, Narendra A Patil, DRM, hailed Dr BR Ambedkar as the greatest soul and sterling statesman ever in the history of the Indian nation. He said that Dr BR Ambedkar had a magnanimous impact on the nation and was a symbol of hope and a guiding light for millions of people languishing in abject poverty sans dignity," the release stated.
Patil also highlighted Ambedkar's life story as the greatest source of inspiration and motivation, who, by intelligence, hard work and passion, and without any background support, rose on to become the founding father of the Indian Constitution.
"The DRM pointed out that though India is a diverse nation with various religions, castes, and creeds across the lines, our democracy and unity remain the strongest in the world due to the supreme efforts of the stalwart Ambedkar and his guiding force, 'The Constitution of India'," as per the release.
Narendra A Patil also exhorted the staff to read one book by Babasaheb every year to draw inspiration from his body of work. He recollected his memories of visiting 'Deeksha Bhoomi' and 'Chaitya Bhoomi'--the two places considered to be of great importance in the life of Babasaheb Ambedkar.
"Earlier, a short film on 'The Life Story of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar' was played in the auditorium, which was well received by the audience with a huge round of applause," the release stated.
The members and office bearers of the All India SC & ST Railway Employees' Association, Trade Union, and All India OBC Railway Employees' Association thanked the administration for their support and spoke highly of the contribution of Babasaheb to the nation.