Dehradun: Uttarakhand Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Gurmit Singh unfurled the national flag at the Parade Ground here to mark the 74th Republic Day on Thursday.
He inspected a parade and watched several folk dance and music performances by local artistes.
Lt Gen (Retd) Singh was received at the venue by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Chief Secretary SS Sandhu, Director-General of Police Ashok Kumar and other officers. On the occasion, the government honoured the people who rushed to the aid of Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant after his accident on December 30.
Pant had a miraculous escape when his luxury car crashed into the road divider and caught fire on the Delhi-Dehradun Highway. He was on his way to his hometown Roorkee to surprise his mother.
Haryana Roadways driver Sushil Kumar, conductor Paramjit Nayan and local residents Nishu and Rajat — who rescued Pant from the burning vehicle — were each given a cash award of Rs 1 lakh, a shawl and a citation. Dhami began his day by unfurling the Tricolour at his official residence and administered the oath of the Preamble of the Constitution to officials and employees of the Chief Minister’s Office. Greeting people on the occasion, Dhami said a collective effort would have to be made to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’. The government is taking rapid steps towards making Uttarakhand a leading state by 2025. Public participation and involvement will be needed to achieve the goal, he said.
Dhami also hoisted the national flag at the BJP’s state unit headquarters in the presence Pradesh BJP chief Mahendra Bhatt. —PTI