Visitors at Gandhi Mandap, located atop Sarania Hill in Guwahati, on Wednesday expressed strong resentment at the concerned authority and BJP led state government’s behavior as no steps have been taken to restore the national flag which has torn apart within just one month.
The tallest tri-colour, which adorned the Guwahati skyline in Assam, was hoisted by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on October 2.
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This is also a major embarrassment to the Assam Government as the iconic flagpole as part of its smart city project. No response team is there to deal with any kind of unwanted situation that may occur at the flag site.
Prianshu Das, Public Relation Officer (PRO) of Guwahati Smart City Limited, said, “The engineers and technicians are outside the state and therefore the change of the flag has been delayed. We have informed them. Probably they will arrive by today evening. With northeast climate, this sort of thing can happen. So another ten flags are available as spare.”
Das further denied the allegation that low quality cloth was used for the flag.
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AB Shyam, resident of Sarania in the city, said, “There might be some technical issues behind the incident. But it is unfortunate that this happened. As soon as I got the news, I came here to see. A proper investigation should be done in this matter. It is our pride and hence government and concerned authorities should not neglect the issue. They should restore the flag as soon as possible.”
Mousumi Shyam said, “An amount of Rs three crores was spent for construction of the third tallest national flag pole. Low quality cloth has been used probably. Therefore, a proper investigation should be done into the incident.”
Meanwhile Guwahati Smart City Limited (GSCL) has issued a press statement, stating, the Indian National Flag, installed at Gandhi Mandap, has suffered a tear due to high wind pressure. The GSCL has initiated necessary corrective measures and immediately informed Bajaj Electricals Limited.
A local team is attending to the issue and considering the sheer size, magnitude and the height of the flag, it requires considerable work under expert supervision. The flag, of dimensions 120 X 80 feet, requires careful handling, for which a team of experts from Bajaj Electricals Limited, are on their way to Assam to complete necessary repair work.
GSCL has been in constant communication with Bajaj Electricals Limited. After lowering the Indian National Flag under expert supervision, Bajaj Electricals Limited will immediately take up necessary maintenance work of the pole and its components, which also includes repainting of the pole.
Also, an enquiry by the Principal Secretary, Guwahati Development Department, Shri Maninder Singh, IAS, has been initiated to probe into the incident.