Storm-worn flags to be replaced in one month

The public works department (PWD) has taken down 500 damaged Indian flags from around the city and will replace them, officials said on Tuesday. After thunderstorms hit the city multiple times in the last few months, the flags at several locations were torn and in need for replacement.

The department will also hire a new private firm to manage the flags replacement as the contract with the previous firm has ended. The new flags are likely to be installed within the next month, officials said.

These flags were installed in 2022 after the Delhi government’s budget mentioned provision for these flags to observe 75 years of independence. The flags have been maintained by the same agency since then.

“We have asked for a new agency to take over the job and repair and replace all such flags across the city. The contract for the previous agency recently expired. The work will soon start, but meanwhile we have taken down all the flags that were reported as damaged. It usually happens due to thunderstorms,” a PWD official said.

Most flags maintained by PWD are 35x50 metres in size and are mounted on 115-metre-long high mast poles. Some poles are located on the ground surface level while others are installed on concrete platforms. Officials said that the entire structure including the platforms, poles and the cloth flags will be repaired and maintained.

The department has set aside approximately ₹27 crore for the work, which includes ₹24.5 crore for civil repair work and ₹2.5 crore for electrical work as sole of the flags are also accentuated using LED strip lights and profile lights.

In the past few days, several complaints were filed from across the city regarding torn flags. Residents on social media posted photos of torn flags at Nehru Place, Dwarka, Sonia Vihar road, near Kalkaji temple, Nangloi, Mayur Vihar, Najafgarh Road, Nirman Vihar, South Extension, ITO Hari Nagar, JLN stadium, Kotla Mubarakpur, near Barapullah flyover and one at the Delhi secretariat.

“For the last five days, I am around Delhi and wherever there is a national flag, it is all torn. Please replace these,” an X user Anurag Bharatiya posted.

Another user TetraviperX9 posted, “Multiple flags all around Delhi are torn due to gusty winds from the day before yesterday. It feels really bad to see a torn flag waving. Please get them replaced.”