Civic bodies begin work to collect, dispose of damaged, soiled flags

Civic bodies began work on Tuesday to collect and properly dispose of ''damaged, dishevelled or soiled flag'' as per the provision in the flag code, as Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena appealed to people to utilise the collection centres set up by the authorities for the purpose.

A senior official of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said ''about 100 flags were deposited at its designated control rooms'' on August 16.

A large part of Delhi comes under the jurisdiction of the MCD, which has 12 zones.

On July 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the masses to hoist the tricolour atop their houses from August 13 to 15 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of India's Independence, calling it the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign. ''As the response to the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' has been overwhelming, we are expecting a very big lot of such flags to be collected in the coming days at our designated control rooms in zonal offices,'' a senior MCD official told PTI.

According to officials from the Union Culture ministry, till August 12, over 20 crore national flags had been made available to the masses. LG Vinai Kumar Saxena also appealed to the people to dispose of the national flags respectfully and utilise the collection centres set up by the civic bodies for the purpose.

The Delhi government said it had distributed national flags among 25 lakh children in the city.

In a tweet, Saxena said, ''Delhi put up an exemplary show of patriotic fervour by colouring the city in the hue of Tiranga. I request you to honour the Tricolour & dispose it with the dignity it deserves. MCD/NDMC have set up collection centres for this purpose. You are requested to contact and utilize them.'' The MCD and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) have set up collection centres for national flags.

The MCD official said, ''Each and every torn, damaged, dishevelled or soiled flag would be properly disposed of with dignity and respect, as per the provisions in the flag code and the sobriety attached to our national flag''.

Besides, sanitation staff have been ''duly sensitised'' to properly collect any flags that may be found strewn on the ground, lying torn or damaged in the dirt, with the dignity attached to the 'Tiranga', he said. ''We urge everyone to extend all respect and dignity to the national flag,'' he said, adding, in India people generally celebrate any festival, extending beyond its date.

''Since it was 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav', we expect that many flags would still be in use for few more days, before people start depositing them,'' the official said.

For the convenience of the citizens of Delhi, a control room has been set up in the zonal offices of the MCD. After the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign and Independence Day celebrations, citizens can deposit the flag with the help of their area's sanitation inspector in the zonal office for collection, storage and disposal of the tricolour as per provisions of the Flag Code of India 2002.

Citizens can directly contact the area's respective sanitary inspector, assistant sanitary inspectors, as well as 'Safai Sainiks' on their phone numbers by visiting the website of the MCD, the official said.

An apex body of Residential Welfare Associations (RWAs) -- United Residents Joint Action of Delhi (URJA) -- has also joined the civic body in their task to ensure the national flag's dignity remains paramount, amid sanitation-related activities. Every RWA is requested to collect the used 'Tiranga', folded and wrapped in paper or cloth, if possible, and store them in a pile. When most of the flags are thus collected in the associations' office over a month, then one may call 9205192511 from Monday to Saturday, between 9 am to 6 pm, for scheduling a pick-up, URJA said.

A non-governmental organisation (NGO) will fix a date and a time slot, pick these up free of cost and share the information with URJA. The flags will be finally given to the MCD which will dispose of the flags as per the law, the statement said.

''Alternatively, the RWA may run a collection drive and call the NGO the next day, if there is no storage space. The pick-up is at the RWA level, not for individuals, so as to also reduce multiple trips and air pollution.We both urge every citizen to work with the RWA to honour the 'Tiranga' when in use and when not in active use,'' it added.

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