Truncated, spectator-less celebrations mark Republic Day in Kolkata

The 72nd Republic Daycelebrations were cut short in Kolkata due to the COVID-19pandemic, but there was no dearth of enthusiam and energy asthe metropolis witnessed a colourful parade and processionwith decorated tableaux at Red Road on Tuesday.

No spectators were allowed at the customary programme,which was truncated to around 30 minutes, and seatingarrangements were made following COVID-19 protocols, a seniorofficial said.

''Only a few VVIPs other than Chief Minister MamataBanerjee, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and senior bureaucratswere invited,'' he said.

Dhankhar hoisted the tricolour and presided over themarch past of the armed forces and the state police at RedRoad in the heart of the city.

The West Bengal government showcased tableauxhighlighting its initiatives like 'Duare Sarkar' and 'ParayParay Samadhan'.

The Kolkata Police also unveield a special tableau'Loho Pronam' in honour of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose to markhis 125th birth anniversary.

Contingents of the West Bengal Police, Kolkata MountedPolice and Kolkata Police motorcyclists took part in theparade as well.

At least 1,000 police officers along with securitypersonnel of the Heavy Radio Flying Squad and Radio FlyingSquad were deployed in and around the Red Road area, theofficial said.

Bomb squad personnel with sniffer dogs also keptguard, he added.

Earlier in the day, Banerjee, in a tweet, called forprotecting and preserving the ideals of the Constitution.

''Justice, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. We mustforever strive to protect, preserve & follow all the ideals ofthe Constitution. Warm greetings to every Indian on RepublicDay! Today's parade in Kolkata has been dedicated to DeshnayakNetaji Subhas Chandra Bose,'' she said.

The chief minister and governor were seen exchangingpleasantries at the end of the programme.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)