The skyline of Hyderabad above the picturesque Hussain Sagar lake has become more colourful with country’s biggest flag fluttering atop a sky-kissing pole at a record height of 88 meters.

The national flag with a gigantic size of 108 in width by 72 feet in length was hoisted by the Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on windy Thursday morning marking the second anniversary of the formation of Telangana State.

The new tourist attraction in Sanjeevaiah Park on the bank of Hussain Sagar lake, which cost the state government Rs 1.8 crore, narrowly missed the feat of being the tallest flag in the country. The recorded will continue to belong to the 82 meters high flagpole of Raipur, the capital of Chattisgarh.

After hoisting the flag mechanically in view of its immense weight of 65 kilograms, the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed hope that it will instill the spirit of nationalism among the people. Describing it as a symbol of pride, the Chief Minister said, "the height of the flag resembles the ambition of Telangana state to soar high".

While the spot where the flagpost has come up has become the instant hit with the visitors and the tourists, many of whom were seen busy taking selfies with the huge flag fluttering in the background, the best view of the flag could be seen from Tank Bund, across the Hussain Sagar lake, about five kms away.

Originally the State Government was keen to have country's tallest flagpole with a height of 303 feet or 93 meters but it had to be reduced because of the opposition from the Airports Authority of India as it was likely to interfere with the aircrafts flying over the city.

However there were still confusion over the exact height of the flag of Hyderabad as the officials claimed varied from 80 meters to 85 meters. Only after the issue was settled will it become clear whether Hyderabad was the winner or Raipur will continue to fly high !