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Commonwealth mascot Shera, MBT Arjun to be 61st Republic Day attractions | Among the major attractions of the 61st Republic Day to be held today will be the Main Battle Tank Arjun, the Smerch Multiple Launch Rocket System, the Armoured Engineer Recce Vehicle, the Sarvatra Bridge, the Electronic Warfare System, Samyukta, ICV BMP-II Sarath, Ambulance Tracked and ALH Dhruv. Also on
view will be the indigenous systems being developed by the DRDO, including the
Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Agni-III Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile, Shourya
Surface-to-Surface Strategic Missile and the Rohini Radar. Since New Delhi is
hosting the Commonwealth Games in October this year, the Games mascot "Shera"
will be the cynosure of all eyes along the eight-kilometer-long parade route.
A bevy of sportspersons, including boxer Vijender Singh, wrestler Sushil Kumar,
weightlifter K Malleshwari, athlete P T Usha, former hockey players Ajitpal Singh
and Zafar Iqbal, shooter Samresh Jung, badminton player Gopichand Pullela,
swimmer
Khajan Singh and veteran Olympian Milkha Singh will be the star attractions of
the parade. The parade ceremony will commence at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India
Gate where the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, will lead the nation in paying
homage to the martyrs by laying wreath. An eternal flame burns at the Amar Jawan
Jyoti to commemorate the indomitable courage of our Armed Forces personnel who
have made the supreme sacrifice in the service of the motherland. The Amar Jawan,
the immortal soldier, is symbolised by a reversed rifle topped by a helmet. As
per tradition, after unfurling of the National Flag, the National Anthem will
be played. Thereafter President Pratibha Devisingh Patil will confer the Ashok
Chakra on Major D. Sreeram Kumar of 39 Assam Rifles, Major Mohit Sharma
(posthumous)
of 1st Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) and Havildar Rajesh
Kumar (posthumous) of 11th Battalion, The Rajputana Rifles. The parade will then
commence and the President will take the salute. South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak
is the chief guest of this year's parade. The parade will be commanded by Lt.
General Kanwaljeet Singh Oberoi, General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area.
Brigadier
Kuldip Singh will be the parade's second-in-command. Param Vir Chakra winners
Subedar Major (Honorary captain) Bana Singh (retired), Havildar Sanjay Kumar,
13 JAK RIF and Havildar Yogendra Singh Yadav, 18 Grenadiers and Ashok
Chakra Winners
Lt Col Jas Ram Singh (retired), Brigadier CA Pithawalla, Cdr, HQ 3 Sect Rashtriya
Rifles and Hony Naib subedar Chhering Mutup (retired) will follow in jeeps. The
marching contingents of Army will include the horse-mounted columns of the 61st
Cavalry, the Brigade of the Guards, Madras Regiment, Jat Regiment, Sikh Regiment,
Dogra Regiment, Bihar Regiment, Gorkha Regiment and the Territorial Army. The
marching contingents of Navy comprising 144 men will be led by Lt. Commander
Ajay
Verma and the Air Force contingent comprising 148 men will be led by Sq. Leader.
R. Katoch. The marching contingents of paramilitary and other auxiliary civil
forces will include contingents from the Border Security Force, Assam Rifles,
Coast Guard, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Central
Industrial Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, Railway Protection Force, Delhi
Police, National Cadet Corps and National Service Scheme. The Camel-mounted
band
of the Border Security Force will be another attraction. Tableaux from 21 states
and Central Ministries and Departments will present the varied historical,
architectural
and cultural heritage of the country. They will also showcase country's progress
in different fields. Nineteen of the 21 children selected for the National Bravery
Award - 2009 will also participate in the parade. Two children have got the award
posthumously. In the children's pageant section, 750 boys and girls drawn from
various schools will present dances and other programs. Jaanbaz, the motorcycle
display by the Border Security Force will see 178 riders on 34 motorcycles
performing
Border Man Salute, Back Riding, Ladder Balancing, Guldasta, Operation Tawar,
Seema
Chowki Buland, Seema Prahari and Flag March under the leadership of Inspector
Gurpreet Singh. They will perform breathtaking stunts in a synchronized and
synergetic
display of mind, body and machine coordination. The grand finale will be a
spectacular
fly-past by the IAF, with the AWACS participating in the Parade for the first
time. One IL-78, flanked by two AN-32 and two Dornier, flying in Big Boy
formation,
will lead the fly-past. This will be followed by one AWACS, flanked by two Su-30
MKI, flying in Sentry formation. Five Jaguars followed by five MiG-29 will fly
in Arrowhead formation. The breathtaking Trishul formation comprising three Su-30
MKI would fly over the Rajpath and once in front of the saluting dais the Su-30MKI
aircraft at the centre would carry out a Vertical Charlie manoeuvre. The ceremony
will culminate with the National Anthem and release of balloons. |
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