This Independence Day, Red Fort might see a swell in attendance numbers. Delhi Police expects the numbers to go up to 30 or 40 thousand.
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The Red Fort would not be greeting its guests with over-the-top floral decorations on its ramparts this 15th of August. The traditional floral arrangements would be missing from the celebrations. The officials disclosed their plans for executing ‘minimalist grandeur’ and keeping the decorations quite understated.
The ramparts of the Red Fort that are visible from the outside will only be lightly adorned to add a ‘refreshing look’. However, a Delhi Police official added that the premises of the Fort including the gardens and the Gyanpath will be decked up for the occasion.
A senior Police officer said that there will be no scrolls, flag sheets, or floral arrangements attached to the walls this year. He added they have been instructed to restrict the embellishments to a bare minimum. A G-20 logo with minimum aesthetic additions will adorn the Red Fort.
Incidentally, every year the Red Fort walls are heavily embellished with vivid floral arrangements and numerous scrolls.
Guest List for Independence Day Celebrations at Red Fort
A special guest list was released for the upcoming Tuesday’s celebrations. The Prime Minister will be present, as always, at the Red Fort to hoist the tricolor and to address the nation. The government has sent invitations to people belonging to different walks of life who have played a key role in the
development of the country. There is a total of 1800 such people from across India. The initiative to invite them falls under the ‘Jan Bhagidari Programme’ by the government.
The invitee list includes teachers, doctors, nurses, fishermen, 622 village heads of the ‘Vibrant Villages’ (villages on the Indo-China border), farmers who are beneficiaries of the PM Kisan Yojana, and laborers who were involved in the construction of the New Parliament and the Central Vista Project. The invitations have been extended to National Award-winning teachers from public school sectors, workers who have been hand-spinning khadi cloth, employees of the Border Road Organization, and people who were involved in government projects like ‘Amrit Sarovar’ and ‘Har Ghal Jal Yojana’ in different parts of the country. The Delhi Police and ITBP have been asked to look after 2900 special guests, in totality.
The celebrations had become a little lack-lustered in the pandemic years. This year without the covid protocols and restrictions the Delhi Police is expecting a crowd whose number would supersede any other crowds the Red Fort has seen in the pre-pandemic era.
Delhi Police has said that even though the capacity of the Red Fort is estimated at 26,484, an overwhelming number of 30,000- 40,000 can be in attendance at Tuesday’s event.
While disclosing the plans of the seating arrangements meant for the guests, an officer clarified that they would be seated on bleachers and there would be around 80-90 couples from various parts of the country dressed in their traditional attires representing their culture.
Students from schools and colleges around Delhi would only be given entry passes for Tuesday. Earlier, the Independence Day celebrations were open to students from all over the country. But the increase in the number of attendees has forced the officers to take this decision.
Police Arrangements Before the Independence Day Celebrations:
The Police have said that around 5000 to 7000 personnel will be posted around the Red Fort area to take care of the security arrangements. They will be using at least 16 cameras with Artificial Intelligence around the venue.
The Police are going to be on strict vigilance especially because of the turmoil in Manipur. They have conducted various anti-drone surveys around the area already. They have been using camera surveillance and are all prepared to take down anything from drones to kites.
DCP (North) SS Kalsi said that they are taking all anti-terror measures possible. They have conducted awareness campaigns around the area in order to make people alert and to prepare them to use maximum restraint, in case, they find a suspicious object or observe a suspicious subject.
