Maha govt's appeal for mass singing of national anthem evokes enthusiastic response

Employees of private offices also sang the national anthem.However, many complained that they were not aware of the mass singing in advance.Ideally, the government should have blown sirens, so all the people would have come to know about the exact timing of singing the national anthem.

The national anthem reverberated in various schools, government and private offices in Mumbai and other cities, and even in some hospitals as people responded to the Maharashtra government's call for its mass singing on Wednesday.

The exercise was conducted as a part of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' (75 years of Independence) The state government had appealed to the people to sing the national anthem between 11 am and 11.01 am on Wednesday. As per the government's order, participation in it was mandatory for all state government departments, universities and colleges, while citizens were also expected to take part in the singing.

Accordingly, the national anthem was collectively sung in schools, colleges, government and private offices, factories and other establishments at 11 am. It was also sung in the state legislature complex at the start of the monsoon session.

After singing the national anthem, people also chanted slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram'.

As per the state government's order issued last week, private establishments, traders and even other government departments, including those who come under the Union government, were also expected to participate in the singing of the national anthem, while students were expected to gather on open grounds for it. At the Mumbai civic body headquarter, officials and visitors sang the national anthem after an announcement was made on a public system.

The national anthem was sung enthusiastically in schools, hospitals, offices and other establishments of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as the clock struck 11 am.

At the Maharashtra secretariat in south Mumbai and other offices of the state government, employees and visitors participated in the mass singing of the national anthem.

The national anthem was also sung at the stipulated time in the offices of the state government undertakings like the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, Maharashtra State Road Development Organisation and other bodies.

In a Regional Transport Office (RTO) in suburban Andheri, RTO agents stood up at their place on the campus and sang the national anthem.

A Central Railway officer said there was no official communication from the state government about singing the national anthem at 11 AM as a result of which its singing didn't take place at the offices of railways and stations. Employees of private offices also sang the national anthem.

However, many complained that they were not aware of the mass singing in advance.

''Ideally, the government should have blown sirens, so all the people would have come to know about the exact timing of singing the national anthem. Busy in office work, we did not realise the timing. Later, I read about it in social media," said a public relations firm executive.

In Pune, state government employees and citizens sang the national anthem at the offices of the divisional commissioner and the district collector.

The national anthem was also sung at the Pune police commissionarate.

In Nagpur, collector R Vimla led the mass singing of the national anthem at the collectorate.

The national anthem was also sung by the employees of the Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)