Flag war to continue at Attari-Wagah border

Attari, January 18

Advertisement

The war of flags between India and Pakistan at the Attari-Wagah joint check post (JCP) is set for a renewal with the authorities on the Indian side readying to make the Tricolour flutter once again on top of a 360-foot-tall flagpole at Attari.

While the Pakistani national flag has been fluttering since last August, the Indian flag had to be taken off on a few occasions last year as strong winds along the border belt have repeatedly damaged the Tricolour.

The Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT), which manages the Indian flag at Attari, has handed over the task of hoisting and maintenance of the flag to Delhi-based company Fast Track. The company manages the giant national flag fluttering at Central Park in New Delhi’s busy Rajiv Chowk.

The AIT has given the contract for maintaining the flag to the company for over Rs 46 lakh annually. The pole and flag were installed last year at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore. The flag, which got damaged four times, has been replaced five times at a cost of Rs 6 lakh each time. Even though the Pakistani flag is fluttering on a higher 400-foot pole, the Indian authorities have decided to keep the Tricolour at a height of 360 feet only.

India had pipped Pakistan in this war of flags by hoisting the flag in March last year, much ahead of Pakistan’s move to hoist a flag near the JCP. However, the Indian flag had to be taken off from the pole as the strong winds repeatedly damaged it. The main reason for this was that the Tricolour is made, as per specifications, from khadi material which could not sustain itself at the height of 360 feet. The Pakistani flag is reported to be made from a finer and stronger material. — IANS