Engineering Division of Indian Army could not attempt to lower the tallest and biggest Tricolour which is stuck at half-mast atop Pahari hills for the past four days due to unavailability of a helicopter, which was to be used for the job.
The new flag got stuck halfway as it was being hoisted to replace a torn one. The rope was dislodged from the pulley in the process due to wind pressure.
Drawing flak for the dishonour to the national flag, Ranchi district administration and Pahari Mandir Vikas Samiti had sought the Army help.
After a great deal of pondering over the predicament with officials from 7017 EME Battalion, it had been decided that Army soldiers hanging down from a hovering helicopter will try to severe the cable supporting the stuck flag so that it can be brought down on Thursday.
These plans could not be executed as the helicopter was not at hand to execute the operation.
Meanwhile, work to erect scaffolding running parallel to the flag pole has begun already and will be done within this week. Also, plan to involve the army in the process has been put on indefinite hold.
“The scaffolding will be completed within four to five days. Considering that Army helicopters will take almost the same time to come to our aid, the idea of using them for lowering the Tricolour has been dropped,” stated Deputy Commissioner Manoj Kumar, who also happens to be the ex-officio Chairman of Pahari Mandir Vikas Samiti.
Materials to be used in building the scaffolding have already been unloaded at Pahari Mandir and work on the same will begin shortly, stated Mukesh Agarwal, a member of Pahari Mandir Vikas Samiti. This platform will then be used to approach the flag and bring it down by whatever means necessary, he added.
The next phase of work will begin once the flag is brought down, that is to identify the factors ranging from flag material to mechanical paraphernalia of the pole which have been creating problems for the Tricolour and resolve them before hoisting it back again.
“We have asked technical experts from MECON and Walmont to appraise the reasons as to why the flag is getting damaged so frequently. They will study the various facets of the issue for a month and suggest remedies. Additional units of winch mechanisms and motors used to hoist the flag will be arranged so that we have ample backup in case one fails, as happened now,” stated the DC.
“No deadline has been laid down for this; we intend to devote as much time as it may take to sort out all the problems before hoisting the Tricolour at Pahari Mandir once again,” he added.