Bhubaneswar: The 73rd Republic Day celebrations have begun all over Odisha today. The State-level parade will be held at the Mahatma Gandhi Marg in Bhubaneswar at 8.30 am. Reportedly, Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal will hoist the national flag and take the salute in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Only Police contingents shall participate in the ceremony. Only a limited number of guests may be invited to the celebration, using e-invites, including selected Covid warriors. RT-PCR test has been made mandatory for those participating in the parade.
There will be no participation by the general public in the celebration, added reports. The security arrangements have been beefed up for a smooth celebration today.
As many as 62 CCTV cameras have been installed at strategic points and one control room has also been set up on Mahatma Gandhi Marg to keep an eagle eye on the area. A five-tier security arrangement has been made for the Republic Day celebrations, informed Twin City Police Commissioner Soumendra Priyadarshi. He further said that around 25 platoons of police personnel along with 70 officers, 2 units of the Special Tactical Unit will be deployed to tackle any emergency.
The Odisha government had released a list of Ministers and other dignitaries who will hoist the National Flag and take the salute in different districts today:
- Niranjan Pujari, Minister, Finance, Excise in Sambalpur
- Bikram Keshari Arukha, Minister, Forest & Environment, Parliamentary Affairs in Cuttack
- Prafulla Kumar Mallik, Minister, Steel & Mines, Works in Nayagarh
- Ranendra Pratap Swain, Minister, Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare, Co-Operation in Mayurbhanj
- Padmanabha Behera, Minister, Planning & Convergence, Commerce & Transport in Bargarh
- Pratap Jena, Minister, Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water, Law, Housing & Urban Development in Angul
- Dr. Aruna Kr. Sahoo, Minister, Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Fisheries & Animal Resource Development, Higher Education in Subarnapur
- Sudam Marndi, Minister, Revenue & Disaster Management in Keonjhar
- Susanta Singh, Minister, Rural Development, Labour &Employees State Insurance in Sundargarh
- Naba Kisore Das, Minister, Health & Family Welfare in Nuapada
- Tukuni Sahu, Minister, Women & Child Development And Mission Shakti in Ganjam
- Jagannath Saraka, Minister Of State (Ind. Charge), St & Sc Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare in Malkangiri
- Dibya Shankar Mishra, Minister Of State (Ind. Charge), Energy, Industries, Ms&Me, Home(S) in Rayagada
- Ashok Chandra Panda, Hon’ble Minister Of State (Ind. Charge), Science & Tech., Pe, SS&EPD in Balasore
- Samir Ranjan Dash, Minister Of State (Ind. Charge), School & Mass Education in Kendrapara
- Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi, Minister Of State (Ind. Charge), Tourism, Odia Language, Literature & Culture in Jagatsinghpur
- Premananda Nayak, Minister Of State (Ind. Charge), Skill Development & Technical Education in Kandhamal
- Raghunandan Das, Minister Of State (Ind. Charge), Water Resources, I & P.R in Puri
- Smt. Padmini Dian, Minister Of State (Ind. Charge), Handlooms, Textiles & Handicrafts in Nabarangpur
- Tusharkanti Behera, Minister Of State (Ind. Charge), E & I.T., Sports & Y.S in Koraput
- RDC (SD) in Berhampur
- RDC(ND) in Rourkela
- RDC(CD) in Khordha
- Collector in Balangir
- Collector in Bhadrak
- Collector in Boudh
- Collector in Deogarh
- Collector in Dhenkanal
- Collector in Gajapati
- Collector in Jajpur
- Collector in Jharsuguda
- Collector in Kalahandi
Besides, the government allowed the citizens to unfurl the national flag at their home premises with a congregation of maximum of five persons while not more than 10 persons at public places/private institutions.
It is to be noted that Republic Day is celebrated every year on January 26 to commemorate the adoption of the Indian Constitution, which came into effect on this day in 1950. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land and citizens are expected to abide by it.
Ms Kalinga