I-Day to be a grand affair

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, AUG. 14. The traditional venue of the Independence Day parade in the capital has been shifted from the Central Stadium to the University stadium. The ongoing renovation works at the Central Stadium was the reason for shifting the venue, officials said.

The Chief Minister, Mr. A.K. Antony, will receive the salute at the Independence Day parade scheduled to commence at 8.10 a.m.

Twenty-four platoons of ceremonially uniformed personnel of the Mounted Police Unit, Armed Police Battalions, Armed Reserve Battalions, Thiruvananathapuram Police Constabulary, Railway Protection Force, Jail Service, Fire Force and Ex-service Men will participate. The NCC, Bharat Scouts and Guides and Sainik School students will also participate in the parade.

The parade will be led by the Special Armed Police (Deputy Commandant), Mr. C. Sophi. The Deputy Commandant, Mr. Thobias, is the second-in-command of the parade.

The oldest police unit in Kerala, Malabar Special Police, will be led by the Armed Police Inspector, Mr. Wahabuddin. The Special Armed Police which was raised in 1958 in Thiruvananthapuram will be led by the Armed Police Inspector, Mr. K. Sivasankaran. The Rapid Action Force (RAF), which was raised in 1996, will be led by Mr. Najib Muhammad, Inspector.

The Armed Police Battalions from Thrissur, Palghat, Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur will be led by Inspectors, Mr. N. V. Velayudhan, Mr. H. Selvanath, Mr. V. T. Sebastian, Mr. K. K. Kunjikuttan and Mr. S. Jayaprakash.

The City Armed Reserve Platoon will be led by Mr. N. Vinaykumaran while the City Police Constabulary contingent will be led by the City Traffic Circle Inspector, Mr. P. Krishnan Nair.

The Railway Protection Force will be led by Mr. T. Selvaraj and the Jail Services Contingent by Assistant Jailer, Mr. K. R. Ajaykumar.

The Senior Division NCC contingent will be led by Mr. Hari Sethu Madhavan and the Fire Force by Mr. V.K. Dharmarajan. Mr. B.S. Nair will lead the ex-service men's contingent. The NCC (Airwing) contingent will be led by Cadet Officer, Mr. Vishnu Nair. Ms. K. S. Jayasree, Under Officer, will lead the Army Senior Division Girls.

Mr. Antony will give away the Chief Minister's Trophy for the best four marching units in the parade the same day. The Armed Forces Flag Fund collection award will be given to Thrissur district. The Kozhikode 29th will be given the Chief Minister's award for the best NCC battalion in the State. The best school award will go to the Pattom Kendriya Vidyalaya. The function will conclude with the recital of the National Anthem.

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Section  : Southern States
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