It is indeed a national shame on Dipawali that the much hyped tricolour on the third longest flagpole atop Sarania Hills at Gandhi Mandap that adorned the Guwahati skyline of Assam has torn apart surprisingly within just one month of its inauguration.
This is also a major embarrassment to the Assam Government that boasted of the iconic flagpole as part of its smart city project.
The Sarbananda Sonowal government had erected the country’s third highest flagpole at an estimated cost of whopping Rs 2.5 crore which was witnessed as damaged by onlookers early Wednesday morning and those at the helm of affairs are oblivious of this development.
With a height of 319.5 ft and dimension of 120 x 80 ft, this is the third tallest flagpole in the country at Gandhi Mandap atop Sarania hill.
The tallest national flagpole with 360 ft height and with a flag of 120×80 feet dimension was installed along the India-Pakistan border at Attari in Amritsar while the second tallest Indian flagpole was installed at Kolhapur in Maharastra with a height of 303 ft.
Tata Consulting Engineers Limited completed the project under the Guwahati Smart City Limited.
High strength steel has been used in the pole which was specially transported from Pune.
The work was awarded to M/s Bajaj Electricals Limited through competitive bidding and work started in April, 2018.
The total project cost is Rs 2.92 crore which includes operations and maintenance for a period of one year.
The material of the flag was supposed to be of high resistance poly-material.
Notably, the flag at Attari was also damaged thrice due to strong wind blowing at the high altitude.
Meanwhile, local denizens have expressed surprise that the government is still not doing anything to rectify or at least take down the torn flag with is a national disgust.
Despite news – the mutilated Flag continues to fly atop Gandhi Mandap
Request Honourable CM @sarbanandsonwal to initiate steps to restore national pride with full honors
Our national symbols should not be treated as mere pieces for decoration.. pic.twitter.com/BUdW3K1C78— Sankhaneel Baruah (@SankhaneelB) November 7, 2018
However, the second tallest Indian flagpole was installed at Kolhapur in Maharastra is still flying high which was inaugurated last year.
It is indeed surprising that with no strong wind blowing on Tuesday night, forget about storm, the flag got damaged just one month after Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had dedicated it to the nation on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.