Even as dark clouds engulfed the Red Fort on Thursday (August 15, 2024) morning, the enthusiasm was not dimmed for A.N. Reddy and his wife, who travelled from Hyderabad to Delhi to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary, with their two young daughters.
“What better way to celebrate our wedding anniversary? My daughters are coming to Delhi for the first time and were very excited…” he said.
Like every year, the Red Fort saw a mix of people from different parts of the country on Independence Day. At 7.25 a.m., a light drizzle began, prompting the crowd to put on their raincoats. However, the event went as planned despite the multiple short spells of rain.
Longest speech
At 7.30 a.m., Prime Minister Narendra Modi unfurled the national flag, which was followed by the national anthem and the 21-gun salute. Sporting a multi-coloured Rajasthani leheriya print turban, paired with a white kurta and churidar and a light blue bandhgala jacket, Mr. Modi delivered his longest speech, which was 98 minutes, as he addressed the country from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort.
After his speech, the Prime Minister greeted cadets of National Cadet Corps (NCC), who were seated at Gyanpath, opposite the ramparts, in a formation reading ‘My Bharat’ via their tri-coloured shirts. The NCC cadets applauded in synchronisation to many parts of Mr. Modi’s speech, such as his mentions of Viksit Bharat.
Sonam Choudhary, 16, a school student, said, “We have been practising for 10 days and were very excited about this… my favourite part of the Prime Minister’s speech was when he spoke about development and a bright future for the youth.”
Around 6,000 special guests had been invited to the event, including tribal artisans, ASHA workers, and beneficiaries of Central government schemes.
Eighteen members from a farmers’ producer organisation (FPO) from Uttar Pradesh’s Sahranpur district travelled via train on August 14 to be part of the event. Usha Upadhyay, one of the women, said, “The Prime Minister spoke of women and farmers and it was a very happy moment for us all…”
However, some said there were many issues that remained unaddressed in Mr. Modi’s speech. An athletics coach from Gurugram said, “While there were mentions of sportspersons, the Prime Minister should not ignore what happened to Vinesh Phogat at the Olympics and prior to that.”
Simran Chaudhary, 18, a resident of Sikar in Rajasthan, came to Delhi for the first time to attend the Independence Day celebrations. Standing with her cousins and admiring the historic Red Fort, she says, “I’ve only seen this celebration on TV. I was so excited to see the Prime Minister. We will go to Qutub Minar now. It was so exciting,” she said.
Security arrangements
Over 10,000 security personnel guarded the Red Fort. A multi-layer security cover was thrown around the venue, whose boundary walls were covered with the tricolour.
The police installed 700 AI-based facial recognition cameras (FRS) around the area for face detection and to monitor movement — which will have high-resolution pan-tilt-zoom features, allowing the police to identify anyone from a distance.
The police also used a smartphone-based application to verify the identity of people coming to attend the event, an officer said.
In addition, snipers, elite SWAT commandos, kite catchers and sharpshooters were positioned at strategic locations for the security of the Prime Minister and other VVIP guests.
