The 67th Republic Day was celebrated with enthusiasm in different parts of the Garhwal region on Tuesday with the State Health Minister Surendra Singh Negi taking the salute of the police parade after hoisting the Tricolour at seven thousand feet high Kandoliya ground in Pauri.
Braving the cold, large number of people thronged the ground to witness the police parade followed by cultural programme presented by Nehru Yuva Kendra and police line artistes.
Addressing the gathering, Negi dwelt on the saga of sacrifice and struggle that resulted in India becoming the Republic. Exhorting the people to perform duties with honesty, he said development is a must for making the country strong.
“We are proud of the great strides made in the IT sector. India’s present population comprises 65 percent youth. We need to give them the right direction so as to enable them to become the leaders of development of the country. However, we are worried with a section of the youths getting addicted to drugs. We must do everything to get them back from the menace and lead them in the direction of development, individual and collective,” he said.
The cultural programme was staged by the artists from Nehru Yuva Kendra while R I police line Pauri Vinod Kumar Thapa presented a patriotic song. Among the dignitaries present were Garhwal commissioner C S Napalchayal, I G. Garhwal Range Sanjay Gunjayal, Pauri district magistrate Chandra Sekhar Bhatt, superintendent of police Rajeev Swarop, chief conservator of forest Gambhir Singh , additional commissioner Harak Singh Rawat, former Uttarakhand Sports council vice-chairman.