Amir Karim Tantray

Tribune News Service

Doda, January 29

Doda took the lead this Republic Day to show residents’ unique style of patriotism towards the country, as two national flags were hoisted by the Indian Army on the old bridge of Pul Doda over the Chenab.

This was a unique gift given to the entire Chenab valley by the Army when, early on the morning of January 26, soldiers of the 10 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) hoisted the two national flags on the bridge and dedicated these to the people of Doda.

The bridge, made of wood and ropes, was closed to vehicular traffic after a concrete bridge was constructed over the river in early 1990s and now stands as a heritage site for posterity. The two national flags, 44-foot-high, are aloft the bridge on both banks of the Chenab, depicting the uniqueness of the 71st Republic Day.

The installation of the flags on the bridge was not an easy task for the Army as it had to manually construct the pillars and hoist the flags without the help of any crane or earthmoving machinery.

“It took one week for the Army to work on the old bridge and erect the poles without any use of modern-day technology. Due to the bad weather prevailing for a fortnight, there was no availability of cranes and latest machines in Doda, Batote, Udhampur and Kishtwar. Undeterred by the challenge, the Army decided to meet the deadline at any cost. Soldiers of the 10 RR, stationed in Doda, improvised methods and worked very hard to finally complete the work for the grand Indian Flags on both sides of the bridge on Pul Doda,” an officer of the Army said.

“The grand flags will make every passenger proud each time they pass through Pul Doda and fill their hearts with patriotism,” he added.