After receiving several complaints about damage, the Public Works Department has decided to lower all 500 national flags across Delhi, officials said on Saturday.
The PWD had raised large national flags at around 500 major sites in Delhi, but due to bad weather conditions, including strong winds in the last few days, many of these sites were damaged.
“We will re-raise the flags after the IMD thunderstorm warning ends. Due to strong winds and bad weather, many flags were torn and damaged, so we have decided to lower them all across the city to prevent further damage,” said a PWD officer.
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According to an official, the 115-foot-tall flagpoles have been installed at about 500 locations. The flags are made of polyester material to protect them from frequent damage. However, they could not withstand the strong winds.
The work of installing national flags began in 2022 when the previous AAP government, under its ‘deshbhakti’ budget, announced an initiative to cover the entire city in the tricolour to generate a sense of nationalism.
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Another official said, “Our teams on the ground are checking if any flags have been damaged. We will replace them with intact flags, as they are big flags. It takes some time.”
While installing these flags, the administration has taken into account the rules of the Indian Flag Act, 2002 which relate to laws and practices relating to display of the national flag.
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The tricolor sites serve as major intersections on major roads to ensure that every Delhi resident comes across these flags in their neighbourhoods.
