Rehearsals of President's Carcade held at Kartavya Path ahead of R-Day
Jan 20, 2024
New Delhi [India], January 20 : Republic Day parade rehearsals continued to be held in full swing at Kartavya Path in the national capital on Saturday.
Rehearsals for the President's Carcade were held ahead of the Republic Day Parade on January 26.
For the first time in the country, a tri-service contingent will be marching in this year's Republic Day Parade.
Captain Sharanya Rao from the Indian Army told ANI that she is proud that she will be leading the Army component of the tri-service contingent.
" I am the supernumerary officer and will be leading the Army component of the tri-services contingent. It is a proud moment because, for the first time in history, a tri-services contingent would be marching," she told ANI.
"Since the theme this year is 'Nari Shakti', many women-led contingents are taking part, be it band, tri-services contingent, or MNS contingent, which is participating for the first time," she added.
All terrain vehicles and specialist mobility vehicles will be paraded on Republic Day this year.
Contingent Commander for these vehicles Major Toofan Singh Chauhan said that these vehicles can be used in the desert, mountainous, and snowy regions for the transportation of troops.
"Additionally, this vehicle can be easily airlifted for transportation from one place to another. Its suspensions are its specialty, which gives it the ability to function at 60-degree alleviation and 45-degree depression," he told ANI.
Meanwhile, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended the Republic Day parade camp organised by the National Cadet Corps in the national capital on Saturday.
Singh heaped praise on the NCC students and said, "After seeing your performance today, I would like to say it was excellent. I would like to congratulate and bless the NCC students for organising such a wonderful cultural program. Your dedication has inspired me. I am confident that every cadet of the NCC is filled with such dedication and talent."
"I was told that some of the cadets have come from distant villages. I would like to say that any village in the country is not 'distant'. This is the mantra of 'Shreshtha Bharat, Ek Bharat'," he added.
Speaking on the importance of the NCC, the Union Minister said, "In this competitive era, students aspire to achieve a lot of things in their lives. Some want to pursue medicine, while others want to enter the engineering field. Many students look forward to kicking off their startups. In order to fulfil your dreams, you have to work hard. Some might question why they should join the NCC at the same time when there is a lot to do with their studies. Let me tell you, the NCC helps you get involved in physical activities. It enhances your social skills. It enriches you with love and respect for the nation."
" India became independent only because of this sense of national pride... People like Chandrashekhar Azad killed themselves with the last bullet in their revolver so that a British-made bullet would not enter their bodies and corrupt them. That is when India became independent. This is called a sense of pride," he added.
