Kammavanpet to hoist 600 sq ft Tricolour atop 100-foot pole on Independence Day

Vellore

The residents national fervor can be understood from the fact that the village of 2500 families boasts of 700 serving armymen and another 2500 exservicemen.

According to ex-serviceman L Elumalai the brain behind the ‘tall pole’ idea, “we wanted to do something to ensure that those who passed by our village really imbibed the spirit of nationalism. Hence we erected the 100 feet high pole costing Rs.6 lakhs and placed an online order for the 600 square feet flag which cost another Rs.24,000.”Asked if villagers had foot the bill, he said “the August 15 organization foot the bill for the flag and for most of the cost of the pole while I donated Rs.1 lakh from my personal funds, because I believe personal contribution is a must to ensure value in any project.”Accompanied by local youth who are provided army training by Elumalai, hoisting the huge flag — which itself weighs around 30 kilos — underwent rehearsals to ensure that there were no glitches when it was hoisted for real on Independence day.

While a recently formed ex-servicemen’s association at KV Kuppam on the Katpadi – Gudiyattam road are also planning a similar exercise on Sunday, VIT university hoists a similar tricolor daily on a 100 feet high pole daily. A similar size flag and pole can be seen at theformer prime minister Rajiv Gandhi memorial at Sriperumbudur, 100 kilometres from Vellore on the Chennai national highway.

“We expect a huge turnout on I day when we hoist the special flag as most residents are serving and former service personnel” Elumalai ended.