Tricolour will flutter at Attari before R-Day

AMRITSAR: Missing since May, the Tricolour atop the 360-foot pole at the Attari-Wagah check post will be seen fluttering once again before Republic Day as its custodian authority — Amritsar Improvement Trust— handed over the task of its hoisting and maintenance to a Delhi-based company, Fast Track, on Friday.

Although , the Pakistani flag has been fluttering atop a 400-foot pole across the border at the Attari-Wgah check post, the Tricolour’s height will remain as it was — 360 feet.

Executive of Amritsar improvement trust, Ravi Kumar, said, “We had issued a tender notice for hiring a professional company for the upkeep and continuous fluttering of the flag at the Attari border in the first week of December. We had received applications from three various companies, out of which we selected ‘Fast Track’, which is already taking care of India’s second largest flag at the Central Park, Connaught Place, in New Delhi.”

“We have signed a contract of ₹73.1 for 19 months—which is ₹3,85,000 per month — from today onward. The company will be wholly responsible for keeping the tricolor fluttering,” he said.

He said, “The height of the pole will remain fixed — 360 feet. There is still no proposal for increasing the height of the pole.” “The flag will be hoisted in the first week of January,” he added.

Notably, the Pakistani flag is made of stronger material, but the Tricolour was made only of the khadi fabric as per norms, due to which it could not withstand high-velocity winds and was to be taken down.

Ahead of Independence celebrations on both sides of the border in August, the flag was hoisted for two days only.The ₹3.5-crore project was a dream of Punjab’s then local bodies minister Anil Joshi of the BJP.Visitors to the evening retreat ceremony are demanding to see the flag at that monumental height too. “We had heard about the tallest Indian flag, but found nothing except a pole,” said a visitor Harpal Singh.

“The Pakistani flag is fluttering at a height of 400 feet, which is 40 feet higher than the Indian pole. We should also have the same height of the pole,” he added.

“The government should spend money to help the needy,” said Ramesh Yadav, an activist.

PAKISTANI FLAG HAS BEEN FLUTTERING ATOP A 400FOOT POLE AT THE ATTARIWGAH CHECK POST, THE TRICOLOUR’S HEIGHT WILL REMAIN AT 360 FEET