After efforts lasting about a month, the scaffolding surrounding the flag pole atop Pahari Hills was completed on Thursday. This 100 metre high platform will provide access to the faulty pulley system on top end of the pole for rectification work.
A team of 50 workers began working on the scaffolding from April 19 to lower the then biggest Tricolour after it got stuck at half-mast in the first week of April due to strong winds dislodging the rope while it was being hoisted on the flag pole. After the national flag was honourably lowered on April 28, a smaller team of 25 workers continued to take the scaffolding higher for rectification work.
Weather momentarily playing spoilsport halfway through the project was one of the hold-ups the team had to face, stated Manoj Kumar, the engineer supervising scaffolding construction at Pahari Hills for Kashish Developers. None of the workers had worked on a 100 metre (including the concrete base) tall structure before either, which made the job that much more tough, he added.
Now that the loft is in place, technical experts from Walmont, the company that raised the structure, and MECON will initiate repair work on the hoisting mechanism of the flag pole, said Mukesh Agarwal, spokesperson of Pahari Mandir Vikas Samiti. This will include mending the pulley mechanism and winch system of the flag pole. Additional supply of motors and other parts of the hoisting mechanism will also be acquired in due course of time, he said.
Once the technical faults of the pole are addressed, we will turn our focus towards exploring durable fabrics for the flag, added Agarwal. The flag got torn recurrently since it was hoisted for the first time on January 23 due to wind pressure it has to endure at the height of 493 feet.
It has been established in the recent past, by Samiti members and officials of Ranchi district administration, that the Tricolour will be hoisted at Pahari Hills only after all technical aspects are addressed in order to ensure its longevity, however long it may take. But their endeavours had to be put on the backburners for the time being in light of a Public Interest litigation (PIl) regarding the disregard the Tricolour had to face.
“Plans to fix the technical issues with the national flag and the flag pole have been temporarily suspended until the court arrives at a decision in the PIl. Efforts in this direction will be resumed wholeheartedly once they are approved by the intellectuals of the city,” stated Ranchi Deputy Commissioner Manoj Kumar, who also happens to be the ex-officio Chairman of Pahari Mandir Vikas Samiti.