The country will celebrate its 79th Independence Day on august 15, Friday. The main event in the capital delhi will be held at the red Fort, where prime minister Narendra Modi will hoist the tricolor as per tradition and address the nation. This will be his 12th consecutive Independence Day address. Recently, PM Modi has broken Indira Gandhi's record in terms of consecutive tenure and will now be second after jawaharlal nehru in giving the most consecutive speeches from the red Fort. This time his speech is likely to focus on national security, economic development and government welfare schemes. Last year, PM Modi raised issues like Uniform Civil Code (UCC), 75,000 new medical seats, women empowerment and cleanliness in his 98-minute speech.
Sarpanchs of 85 villages will be special guests
This year, sarpanches of 85 villages from 26 states and union territories have been invited as special guests in the ceremony. These are the panchayats which have been declared ODF Plus under Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin and Har Ghar Jal village under Jal jeevan Mission. These include names like Mukhiya prema Devi of Motipur Gram panchayat of Samastipur in Bihar, Sarpanch Kusum Singh of Rarh Gram panchayat of Bharatpur in Rajasthan, Sarpanch Shashikant Bhupendrabhai patel of Sultanpur in gujarat and Sarpanch Deepali Uttam Chaugule of Nigve Dumala Gram panchayat of Kolhapur in Maharashtra. These sarpanches have made their villages models with initiatives like energy production from waste, water management, plastic ban, community toilets with Braille signage and solid waste separation.
This year, sarpanches of 85 villages from 26 states and union territories have been invited as special guests in the ceremony. These are the panchayats which have been declared ODF Plus under Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin and Har Ghar Jal village under Jal jeevan Mission. These include names like Mukhiya prema Devi of Motipur Gram panchayat of Samastipur in Bihar, Sarpanch Kusum Singh of Rarh Gram panchayat of Bharatpur in Rajasthan, Sarpanch Shashikant Bhupendrabhai patel of Sultanpur in gujarat and Sarpanch Deepali Uttam Chaugule of Nigve Dumala Gram panchayat of Kolhapur in Maharashtra. These sarpanches have made their villages models with initiatives like energy production from waste, water management, plastic ban, community toilets with Braille signage and solid waste separation.
Tight security in and around red Fort
Unprecedented security arrangements have been made in and around the red Fort. More than 11,000 security personnel and 3,000 traffic policemen will be deployed. Snipers will be deployed on high buildings, surveillance teams on rooftops and anti-drone units. CCTV cameras, face recognition system, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and for the first time, under-vehicle surveillance system (UVSS) will be used. Special equipment has been installed at five parking lots for under-vehicle checking of vehicles. delhi Police, army and paramilitary forces have jointly created a multi-layered security layer. Patrolling has been increased at railway stations, bus stands, airports, metro stations, water purification plants and along the yamuna river. The cyber unit is monitoring potential threats or rumours on social media.
Minute-to-minute programme
7:30 am - prime minister Narendra Modi will reach red Fort. Defence minister Rajnath Singh and senior officials will welcome him. Guard of honour will be given.
7:35 am - PM Modi will hoist the tricolour with the help of Flying Officer Rashika Sharma after inspecting the Guard of Honour. 21-gun salute will be given by 1721 Field Battery.
7:37 am – There will be a national salute and national anthem, which will be played by 11 Agniveer musicians of the air Force band.
7:40 am – Two Mi-17 helicopters will shower flowers. One helicopter will fly carrying the tricolour and the other the flag of Operation Sindoor.
7:45 am – The Prime Minister's speech will begin, which will discuss the government's priorities, achievements and future plans.
8:15 am – 2,500 NCC cadets and 'My Bharat' volunteers will sing the national anthem.
In the evening – There will be military band performances at more than 140 locations across the country. The logo and theme of Operation Sindoor will also be displayed in the program.
click and follow Indiaherald WhatsApp channel