Republic Day 2022: 8000-cap on parade audience, 21 tableaux, drone swarming over Rajpath
Following a surge in Covid-19 cases across the country, the government has decided to significantly curtail the audience at Rajpath to around 8,000 for the 73rd Republic Day parade celebrations on January 26 in New Delhi.
FollowFollowing a surge in Covid-19 cases across the country, the government has decided to significantly curtail the audience at Rajpath to around 8,000 for the 73rd Republic Day parade celebrations on January 26 in New Delhi. Last year, a total of 25,000 people had attended the Republic Day parade.
A top defence ministry official said, “We are promoting people to watch in the online format. The audience numbers will be curtailed so that they don’t become super-spreaders. The number would be between 5000-8000.” This time the parade will be delayed by 30 minutes so that people can have better visibility. It will start at 10:30 am, the official added.
As part of Aazadi ka Amrut Mahotsava, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay floral tribute at National War Memorial near India Gate, at the same time the National Cadets Corps cadets will visit the next of kin of martyrs and present a plaque signed by the prime minister.
More than 5,000 next of kin of martyrs have been identified so far, the official said.
The Republic Day celebration has been preceded by a day to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on January 23. On January 23rd evening, a small function would be held at India Gate, wherein the Prime Minister will honour individuals and institutions who have done exemplary works in the field of disaster management. The individuals who would be awarded a certificate and Rs 5 lakh cash while the institutions will get a certificate and Rs 51 lakh cash.
The tableaux of 12 states and 9 Union ministries will be displayed on the Rajpath. On being asked about any consideration for including the proposals of the West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the Republic Day Parade, the official said that there would be no reconsideration on the rejected proposals. The tableaus of Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Meghalaya, Tripura, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh will be showcased on January 26 on Rajpath.
This time, the government has invited those individuals who are marginalised and have not got any opportunity to witness the grand celebration. Among those, included rickshaw pullers, auto drivers, sanitation workers, frontline workers, among others. Also, a startup from IIT-Delhi has been encouraged to showcase a drone swarming using 1000 UAVs over the Rajpath. With this, India would become the fourth country to present a drone show of this scale.
Also Read: Republic Day 2022 tableau row: Modi government does not decide on tableau, expert panel does
