The Telangana State government has geared up for decennial celebrations on June 2 in a grand way, marking the 10th anniversary of the newly created State. Telangana was formed on June 2, 2014 following an intense agitation for more than a decade.

The day-long celebrations will kick off with Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy CM paying floral tributes to Telangana martyrs at the Martyrs Memorial, Gun Park at 9.30 am on June 2.

The Chief Minister will unfurl the national flag and receive the guard of honour at Parade Ground at 10 am. He will unveil the State song followed by which Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Revanth Reddy will address the gathering. During the celebration, best performing police officers and police contingents will be recognised with awards. The programme at Parade Ground will end with a photo session of the CM with the award winners.

On the same evening, the celebrations will continue at Tank Bund. Stalls of handloom and other products will be put up, alongside food courts providing Telangana cuisine. The Chief Minister will visit these stalls at 6.30 pm. He will inaugurate a cultural carnival showcasing Telangana culture, and art forms. About 700 artists will participate in this cultural event. A special dance performance for 70 minutes has also been lined up.

After the cultural performances, 5,000 people will walk carrying the National Flag on Tank Bund during which ‘Jaya Jayahe Telangana,’ the full version of the State anthem will be played. On the same stage, Revanth Reddy will felicitate noted Telangana poet Ande Sri, who penned the song, and film music director M M Keeravani. At 8.50 pm, the celebration will conclude with fireworks display for 10 minutes on the Hussain Sagar lake.

However, amid row over the proposed move to remove images of historic Charminar and Kakatiya arch from the official emblem of Telangana, the Congress government has postponed unveiling of new emblem.

With main opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) taking strong exception to the move to remove the images of historic structures from the emblem and threatening State-wide protests, and also the objections raised in some other quarters, the Stated government dropped the plans to unveil the new emblem on the occasion on June 2.

At a meeting with ministers, leaders of Congress and its allies earlier, the Chief Minister decided to adopt only the State anthem. ‘Jaya Jayahe Telangana’ song written by Ande Sri 20 year ago has been accepted without any changes. Oscar Award winner Keeravani composed the music and sang the song.