The grand dream of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to hoist India's tallest national flag in Hyderabad to mark the completion of two years of Telangana State, was unlikely to be fulfilled.
He will unfurl the flag albeit at a much lesser height of 275 feet height as the Airport Authority of India has red-flagged the original plan of erecting a 303 feet high massive flag post at Sanjeevaiah Park not far from the Begumpet Airport.
Even as a technical team headed by Chief Engineer Ganapati Reddy was busy giving final touches to the installation of a huge steel pole on a big pedestal at the top of which the flag will be hoisted.
The pedestal was built on a ten feet deep foundation to make the tall steel frame secure enough for gigantic flag of 72 feet by 108 feet. The flag made of polyster in Mumbai will weigh 92 kgs. Another four similar flags were also being kept ready in case of need to replace the one in use, officials said. The entire project, the contract of which was given to a Kolkata-based company Skipper was estimated to cost ` 1.8 crore, officials said.
Due to the AAI intervention the Hyderabad flag will be the second-tallest in the country behind the 81 meters high flag of Raipur in Chhattisgarh.
The State Government plans to develop the flag point into a picnic spot as it was surrounded by the lush greens of Sanjeevaiah Park.