About 4,000 spectators are expected to attend the Republic Day parade in Delhi on January 26 this year, while the Beating the Retreat ceremony three days later could see hundreds of drones float in the sky for the first time apart from a special laser. The show, News18.com has learned.
Highly placed government sources said that in view of the rising number of COVID cases across the country, only a select few would attend the ceremony. The distance and route covered by various marching contingents will remain the same as last year.
Read also | Republic Day: No foreign dignitaries can be invited as guests in this year’s parade
“This year the parade will have around 4,000 spectators,” said a top government official. He said that all standard COVID protocols would be followed during the event, such as adequate social distancing among the people present at the venue, thorough sanitisation of the premises, thermal screening at entry points, use of masks, sanitizers and gloves. Availability as well as setting up of isolation and booth at the venue for emergencies.
Before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Republic Day parade saw anywhere between 1.15 lakh to 1.25 lakh spectators. An important national event, the ceremony is a symbol of India’s cultural diversity and military might.
covid effect
January 26, 2020, a few months before the pandemic hit India, 1.15 lakh viewers. Keeping in mind the pandemic, last year it was restricted to only 25,000 spectators. Sources said the decision to further reduce the number was taken in view of the rapid increase in the number of Covid-19 cases this month.
Allaying apprehensions that several roads dug up in the Central Secretariat area may lead the parade to follow an alternate route, a second government official told News18.com that the marching contingent would start from Vijay Chowk on Rajpath and start the national parade. Will go to the stadium. ,
The Republic Day parade in 2021 had also covered the same path and distance. However, in the years before that, the parade usually started from Vijay Chowk and ended at the Red Fort. There is a difference of about five kilometers between the National Stadium and the Red Fort.
The sources cited above also said that the selected 21 tableaux can go from Vijay Chowk to the Red Fort.
Out of the six marching contingents of the Army that will take part in the Army Day Parade on January 15, five will participate in the Republic Day Parade. The force will also display the same equipment and uniforms on the theme ‘Development of the Indian Army’ over the last 75 years as it did on Army Day this year.
The Indian Air Force on Monday said that this year’s Republic Day flypast at Rajpath will be the biggest and grandest. 75 aircraft of the Indian Air Force, Navy and Army – including Rafale, Sukhoi-30S, Jaguar, C-130J special operations aircraft, MiG-29K and P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft – to mark 75 years of India’s independence Will fly
A vintage Dakota aircraft and two Dornier aircraft will also fly over the Tangail Formation to commemorate the historic Tangail Airdrop – a major air campaign carried out by India in the 1971 war between India and Pakistan.
The IAF will also have a marching contingent and a tableau showcasing MiG-21 and Gnat fighters that took part in the 1971 war, Rafale fighter jets, indigenous Light Combat Helicopters (LCH), Aslesha 3D surveillance radars and G- SAT7 communication satellites in parade.
For the spectacle of the Beating the Retreat ceremony
For the first time ever, a unique show featuring hundreds of “eyes in the sky” has been held at Beating the Retreat on January 29.
Although the number of drones participating in the event is not immediately known, sources say it could be around 800.
Additionally, a laser show is also planned during the ceremony showcasing important events from military history.
Sources said that the two special events will increase the total length of the ceremony by about 15 minutes.
There are also plans for an Indian musical composition, which could be the closing tune of the festival, he said.
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