While the highest Indian national flag in Kashmir was installed at the historic Hari Parbat hill fort in Srinagar on the Independence Day last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nation-wide 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign and the year-long festival 'Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav' have culminated into a spectacular denouement of the celebration of the 75th year of independence in the valley.
A gathering of 5,000 Kashmiris on the eve of the Indian Independence Day on Sunday, 14 August 2022, witnessed arguably the country's longest tricolour being hoisted at Bakshi Stadium in the Union Territory's summer capital.
An 1850-metre long tricolour, the longest in the country, was on Sunday displayed here at an event attended by about 5,000 people, an official spokesman said. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha called it an "illustrious chapter in J&K history”.
Scripting an illustrious chapter in J&K history. 1850 Metres long National Flag displayed in Bakshi Stadium, which witnessed participation of 5000 citizens. #HarGharTiranga pic.twitter.com/uNNSMHrnCn
— Office of LG J&K (@OfficeOfLGJandK) August 14, 2022
The tricolour was on show at the Bakshi Stadium here under the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign as part of the ‘Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav’, the official spokesperson said. A galaxy of the UT authorities from Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta to the Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Aijaz Assad attended the celebration.
Chief Secretary Mehta appreciated the efforts of the Srinagar district administration in organising such a grand event of displaying the 1850-metre-long tricolour which, he said, would instil the spirit of nationalism, sacrifice and fraternity among the citizens.
Around 500 people were engaged in rolling and unrolling of the flag as per the lately amended National Flag Code. According to the official spokesperson, it took 10 days to stitch the flag, unmatched in the country.
“Scripting an illustrious chapter in J&K history. 1850 Metres long National Flag displayed in Bakshi Stadium, which witnessed participation of 5000 citizens. #HarGharTiranga,” LG Sinha posted on Twitter.
Early this month, a multitude of around 10,000 students and sportspersons attended the inauguration of the renovated Bakhshi Stadium by the LG on 5 August, coincidentally the third anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370. The capital city's largest football stadium, which witnessed terror threats, IED blasts and rocket attacks on the Indian Independence and Republic days in the 1990s, has been renovated and modernised as per FIFA standards.
Even before the onset of armed insurgency in 1989, a number of the participant students were injured in a crude bomb blast during the Independence Day ceremonial parade.
Now day-and-night football matches are played at this stadium which suffered massive damage in the unprecedented floods of September 2014. A capacity of 20,000 seats has been created at the pavilions. The stadium has been renovated by the National Projects Construction Corporation (NPCC) with an expenditure of over Rs 40 crore.
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