DW BUREAU / Chandigarh Haryana Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya paid his respects to the brave martyrs and freedom fighters of Haryana in a programme organised at the Raj Bhavan on the occasion of 74th Independence Day. He said that while on one hand, the State government has taken extensive measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19, on the other hand, the pace of development work has been kept steady in the State for which it deserves appreciation. He said that he feels proud that he has got the opportunity to serve the people of the brave soil of Haryana.Satyadeo Narain Arya received the Guard of Honour and inspected the parade after unfurling the national flag at the Independence ceremony held at Haryana Raj Bhavan for the first time following the COVID-19 Protocol norms. He said that just as the people of the country fought in solidarity by rising above caste and religion, during the freedom movement, the people of the country have shown solidarity in dealing with the pandemic like Covid-19. He said that today is a day of great pride for the people of India. Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev, Lala Lajpat Rai, Shaheed Udham Singh, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Chandra Shekhar Azad and thousands of known and unknown patriots laid down their lives for the nation's independence. Similarly, leaders like Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, Maulana Azad worked for national unity and nation building. Paying his respects to all the brave martyrs, Arya said that the heroes of Haryana have contributed significantly to the nation's freedom movement. Even today, every tenth soldier in the nation's army belongs to Haryana. He said that from time to time, the heroes of Haryana have set a new example of national security. The Governor said that not only the country and the state, but the whole world is suffering from Covid-19. In such a situation, doctors, nurses, policemen, electricity, sanitation workers and volunteers are working to prevent the spread of Covid-19 infection by putting their lives on the line. He said that these corona warriors have worked for the COVID-19 patients without any social, religious, caste and community discrimination, due to which the death rate of Covid-19 in the State is 1.14 percent. Similarly, the recovery rate of Covid-19 in the state is more than 83 percent. He said that all this is being made possible with the cooperation of all government employees, government and non-governmental organisations and socio-religious organisations engaged in the prevention of spread of infection. (editor@dailyworld.in)