Republic Day celebrations will start from January 23, marking Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary, but the number of people at the parade will be cut down due to a sharp rise in Covid cases.
Defence Ministry has included several new features for this year’s Republic Day celebrations. A special drone show will be conducted by an IIT incubated startup at the Beating Retreat ceremony. All the frontline workers have been invited to participate in this ceremony.
Over a lakh number of people were present at Rajpath before Covid but post-Covid last, last year, the numbers were curtailed to 25000 and this year it has been further cut down to 8000, as per officials.
“We are making a special effort to give opportunities to those segments of society who typically do not get an opportunity to see the parade. Therefore, seats have been reserved for autorickshaw drivers, construction workers, safai workers, frontline health workers in both in Republic Day Parade as well as in the Beating the Retreat ceremony,” officials said.
