The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to raise the nation’s highest flag, which stands at 418 feet, near the Wagah-Attari border in Punjab, a move that could rekindle a flag war with Pakistan.
According to a report by the Hindustan Times, the NHAI hired a contractor after receiving approval from the federal and state governments. Although the location of the flag has not yet been determined, the official claimed that there are currently no plans to take down the current flag. The official stated that the project should be finished within a month.
Pakistan raised a bigger flag at the Wagah checkpoint in the same year, but the current 360-foot-high flag was put up in March 2017 at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore. Compared to the Pakistani flag, the new Tricolour will be 18 feet longer.
According to an earlier report by the Hindustan Times, the NHAI, which is completing beautification and plantation work outside the Swarna Jayanti Dwar of the joint check-post (JCP) in Attari near the zero line, had written to the Union home ministry in 2021 requesting permission to increase the height.
“The contract has been accepted, and the installation of the flag will likely start in 15 to 20 days. Although the exact location has not yet been chosen, Border Security Force (BSF) officials have suggested that it should be closer to the joint check post’s spectator gallery (JCP). Due to the height of the gallery’s edifice, the current Indian flag is not fully visible to those attending the Beating Retreat event “A NHAI representative told Hindustan Times.
“As of now, they don’t have any plans to change or take down the current flag. After the new flag has been installed, the decision regarding its replacement or removal may be made. The project’s work should be finished in a month, he predicted.
In charge of NHAI’s engineering wing Sunil Yadav, the project director, will oversee the project’s development, according to Yogesh Yadav. Once it is up, the new flag “will be the tallest in India,” he declared.
“Many onlookers had been requesting that our national flag, which appears to be shorter than the flag of Pakistan, be raised in height. The placement of the new flag will result in onlookers not having any complaints and instead being in a happy mood, according to a BSF officer who asked to remain nameless.
The NHAI has been working on the beautification of the border in Punjab, which is attracts tourists from across the world. Two selfie points were set up recently, which also allow spectators to witness the daily military drill at the border through big screens.
Presently, Belagavi or Belgaum Fort in Kote Kere, Karnataka, has the tallest Indian flagpole measuring 361 feet.
