Special honour to Olympic athletes & corona warriors
Showering of flower petals by two Air Force helicopters, a separate block at the venue for "corona warriors", Olympians as special guests and socially-distanced audience were among the highlights of the 75th year of the country’s Independence Day celebrated as the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” on Sunday at the historic Red Fort.
The celebrations were, however, curtailed for the second consecutive year due to coronavirus, with attendees wearing masks and sitting six feet from each other, a 'new normal' being followed in wake of the pandemic. Schoolchildren, who would usually attend the event dressed in the colours of the national flag, were not present this time too. Instead, 500 NCC cadets had been invited to the event.
For the first time ever, as soon as the tricolour was hoisted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, flower petals were showered at the venue by two Mi-17 1V helicopters of the IAF in Amrut formation. While the first chopper was controlled by Wing Commander Baldev Singh Bisht, the second was commanded by Wing Commander Nikhil Mehrotra.
The annual event, which otherwise sees bustling crowds of people across age groups, was scaled down for the second year in keeping with the prescribed safety protocols to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus that wreaked havoc across the world.
As many as 32 Olympic winners, including star Javelin thrower and Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra — who became the first Indian sportsperson to achieve this feat in the track and field at the Games, were among the special invitees at the event.