Military salutes healthworkers for their services amid Covid-19
Saluting those who are at the forefront, bravely fighting COVID-19
Narendra Modi @narendramodi
new delhi — Helicopters showered masked health workers with rose petals and jets roared across the skies on Sunday as India’s military paid tribute to frontline workers battling the coronavirus pandemic.
In one of the first of several gestures on Sunday, petals fell on to the upturned faces of medical personnel clad in protective gear as an army band played patriotic tunes including “Jai Ho” (May victory prevail) from the popular Slumdog Millionaire film.
In several states and territories across the vast nation of 1.3 billion people, fighter jets and transport aircraft in formations took part in low-flying aerial salutes to thank the country’s so-called “corona warriors”.
In the southern city of Bengaluru, a helicopter showered flowers over Victoria Hospital, as doctors and other medical workers in hospital gowns and masks cheered on, local television showed. A military band played alongside.
“We are doing our duty, we know the danger of the disease, but we come here and do as it’s our duty. Such gesture, that too from the Armed forces is great, it will help us keep going,” a hospital staff said in Bengaluru.
In Kerala, the Indian Air Force and Navy helicopters showered flower petals on hospitals in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi while a fly-past and steam-past were also conducted.
In the financial capital of Mumbai, television showed fighter jets roaring over the famous Marine Drive, which runs parallel to the Arabian Sea, as some residents craned for a view from their balconies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed the mega exercise. “Saluting those who are at the forefront, bravely fighting COVID-19. Great gesture by our armed forces,” the prime minister tweeted.
“The entire nation stands united in these challenging times,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted on Sunday as he praised the “commendable work” of the “frontline warriors”, including police which have been enforcing the nationwide virus lockdown in place since late March.
The navy will light up its ships off the sub-continent’s shores when night falls as part of the tributes.
The performances were the third public show of gratitude to health and other frontline workers, after Indians took part in nationwide clapping and lamp lighting efforts led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on previous Sundays.
The lockdown was extended for another two weeks by the government on Friday, although some restrictions were lifted in regions that have lower numbers of virus cases. —