Hiroshima Day observed

Calling for ‘no more Hiroshimas’, the 68th anniversary of the Hiroshima Day was observed in the city on Tuesday. The programme was jointly organised by the State Information and Public Relations Department (I&PRD), in association with YMCA Thiruvananthapuram and Swaranjali.

The Hiroshima memorial meeting held as part of the observations was inaugurated by Mayor K Chandrika at YMCA Hall. In her speech, the Mayor highlighted the importance of anti-war get-togethers to make the young generation aware of the perils of war.

“It is innocent people who die or get amputated in the war. The messages against war have to be conveyed in the most befitting way to make the young generation know about its disastrous effects,” Chandrika said. She also reminisced how the people in Japan overcame the disaster caused to their nation even when its effects still linger on.

The Harmony Award instituted by Swaranjali was presented to Fr M P George by Soorya Krishnamoorthy, chairman of Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, on the occasion. The Mayor also handed over prizes to the winners of the painting competitions and quiz held on the same day on the topic, ‘War and Peace.’  After the programme at YMCA, the participants moved to the ‘Hiroshima memorial’ arranged in front of Secretariat and lit 68 lamps commemorating the 68th year of Hiroshima bombing. Students and socio-cultural activists lit the lamps.