MARCHING CONTINGENTS WILL HAVE FEWER SOLDIERS IN R-DAY PARADE

Ahead of the Republic Day parade, a full dress rehearsal was held at Rajpath on Sunday. The rehearsal commenced from Vijay Chowk and took the route that the parade will take on 26 January, proceeding towards the Red Fort via Rajpath.

In the 75th year of Independence, the Republic Day parade would showcase the old and the new era of the Indian Army in terms of uniforms and weapons used while the Beating Retreat ceremony would see the inclusion of a laser mapping and drone show.

In view of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the number of soldiers in marching contingents in the parade has been reduced from 144 to 96, said Major General Alok Kakkar.

During a press conference in Delhi, the officer who is the Chief of Staff of Delhi Area and would be the second-in-command of the parade said that in order to be able to follow Covid norms, the number of troops in marching contingents in the parade has been reduced. They will be seen marching in 12 rows and eight columns, he added.

Some other changes in the parade include shortening of the distance covered by the parade. “The Republic Day parade which starts from Raisina Hills and goes through Rajpath, India Gate till Red Fort would now only go up to the National Stadium in view of Covid-19 this time. Only tableaux will go up to the Red Fort,” he said.

This year, the parade will not start at the scheduled 10 am. “The parade will commence at 10.30 am instead,” said Major General Alok Kakkar.

“There will be 8 contingents of the Indian Armed Forces in the Republic Day Parade, which will include 6 contingents of Army, one each from Air Force and the Navy. The Parachute regiment contingent will wear the new combat uniform with the latest Tavor rifles,” he added.

During the virtual press conference he also said that a “unique” mix of vintage and new equipment will be seen in the mechanised column. “In the front, in the armour column, PT-76 and Centurion tanks will be shown which took part in 1965 and 1971 wars. This will be followed by main battle tank Arjun,” he said.

“A total of 16 marching contingents would be there. Of these, eight will be of Indian Armed Forces, four of central Armed Police Force, two of NCC and one each of Delhi Police and NSS,” he added.

21 tableaux will be shown in the parade. There will be two motor-cycle formations. The women’s team will be of BSF and men’s team will be of ITBP. “75 aircraft of the Indian Air Force in 15 formations will do a flypast,” he added.

Two new things will be seen in the Beating Retreat ceremony that is held at Vijay Chowk, Delhi. After the ceremony concludes, a projection mapping with laser would be done on the wall of the North and South Blocks. It will be followed by a drone show in which 1,000 drones will take part.