The tallest Tricolour at Attari border will no longer be as tall as it was. Due to frequent damages to the 120 feet by 80 feet flag due to the high-velocity wind, the Amritsar Improvement Trust has decided to reduce the size of the existing flag.
The trust will now be getting a 72-feet by 48 feet Tricolour in the hope that it will be able to last longer at 355 feet. The Tricolour, placed along the border, was said to be visible from a good distance in Pakistan.
Trust’s Superintending Engineer Rajeev Sekhri hopes that a smaller flag will be able to stand up to the strong winds. They have ordered 10 flags of smaller dimensions which are likely to reach them by the end of the week.
The earlier flag weighed more than 100 kg and cost more than Rs 1 lakh, but the new one will cost much less.
The trust is planning to urge visitors to go to Attari, to watch Beating the Retreat ceremony, to contribute money towards buying flags.
Sekhri also said that they may mention the name of the contributor, giving them credit for the particular flag till the time is replaced with another one.
A plan to engage a contractor through tenders is also being discussed for the maintenance of the Tricolour. The cost for the maintenance is estimated at Rs 30 lakh a year.
Four flags have been replaced at the flagpole since March 5 when the Tricolour was first hoisted. Even on the day of the inauguration, the first flag to be hoisted was damaged on the ground itself after it got entangled in the wires due to strong winds.
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