Dakshina Kannada district in-charge Minister V. Sunil Kumar on Saturday urged residents to celebrate the Har Ghat Tiranga campaign with fervour by hoisting the national flag atop all buildings, including houses, commercial complexes, shops, and offices from August 13 to 15.
He was speaking after launching an exhibition and sale of the national flag manufactured by Belaku Sanjeevini Panchayat Federation members of Kandavara Grama Panchayat at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Bhavan at Urva here. The occasion also had a training programme for the elected representatives of urban and rural local bodies on the campaign.
Mr. Kumar said this time Independence Day should not remain a mere government programme, but every citizen should actively participate in the festival. He said preparation meetings should be held in every local body on August 8 and 9 and flags should reach every house through self-help groups and youth organisations by August 10 and 11. He appealed to citizens to buy the flag and not to insist on free distribution. Every citizen was expected to hoist the flag with family members; there should not be any decoration to the flag. One should ensure the flag code was not violated.
Celebrations in Dakshina Kannada have special significance as the first struggle for independence happened at Sullia in 1837, 20 years before the recognised first freedom struggle. People may send pictures of flag hoisting to a separate WhatsApp number to the district administration.
Zilla panchayat CEO Kumara said the flags were priced at ₹22, ₹25, and ₹30, respectively, for those sent by the Central (1.75 lakh flags) and State governments (4.25 lakh flags) and those produced by SHGs, respectively. SHGs were producing another 4.25 lakh flags. Flags would be sold at 16 places in the district.
Plastic flags were banned, Mr. Kumara said adding that flags should not be displayed on vehicles. They may be displayed inside the vehicle. The district has 1.6 lakh houses, excluding apartment complexes.
MLAs D. Vedavyasa Kamath and Y. Bharath Shetty, Mayor Premananda Shetty, Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra, MCC Commissioner Akshy Sridhar and others were present.
