Independence Day: Only top Cabinet ministers to be seated on ramparts of Red Fort

New Delhi: India’s 74th Independence Day ceremony will be a curtailed affair with strict physical distancing norms and hand sanitisation at Red Fort where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation. There will also be a special tribute to coronavirus warriors.
With the shadow of Covid-19 looming large, the government, for the first time, will break away from the tradition of all cabinet ministers sitting on the ramparts of Red Fort during the prime minister’s address on Saturday.

“There is not enough space on the ramparts for the Cabinet ministers to be seated while following physical distancing norm of 6 feet," said a senior official involved in the arrangements told ET. “So, the defence ministry has made a proper seating plan, which would see the senior most ministers including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari, seated on the ramparts at the usual place.”

Following the six-feet distance rule for physical distancing, less than 10 ministers would be seated on the ramparts. Remaining ministers would be seated in a separate enclosure below the upper dais, officials said.

Secretary-level bureaucrats, Supreme Court and high court judges would also have separate enclosures below the upper dais. Corona warriors – doctors and healthcare professionals – have also been invited and would have a separate seating area, they said.

The number of armed forces personnel and NCC cadets present during the march have also been reduced to one-fourth of normal. The personnel would be taking the usual route through Daryaganj and Delhi Gate area. Usually, a ground near Red Fort is opened for general public to take photographs. This is unlikely to be opened this time.

While the entire ceremony is being curtailed, the usual grandeur would not be missing. Central Public Works Department (CPWD), the nodal agency for arrangements at Red Fort and the path leading to the monument, would follow the central theme of Dandi March, officials said.

There would be floral decorations in the heart of the capital that would depict the march, which completed 90 years in April this year.

CPWD has also been entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that various rules under Flag Code of India 2002 are followed. This would mean that only flags made of paper would be allowed at the venue and around it. CPWD has been asked to ensure that these flags are not disposed of or discarded on the ground and instead taken by the public with them.