R-Day: Many came from as far as Andhra to attend parade, failed to get entry despite long wait

Nitish Rao came all the way from Andhra Pradesh to attend the grand Republic Day Parade here on Sunday, but even after waiting for nearly two hours near the entrance gate of the venue in the chilly morning, he had to go back.

Sonu Singh, who came from Himachal Pradesh, suffered the same fate.

Waiting in long, serpentine queues, huge crowds had gathered near the Rajpath, some of them having arrived in the early hours to ensure a seat.

But, Rao and Singh and many others like them could not get entry despite holding a seat pass.

Rao had come from Anantpur to attend the parade, but all he could contend with was watching a few aircraft flying above the Rajpath from outside the visitors' enclosure.

"I have never witnessed a Republic Day Parade. My friend arranged a pass for me and I arrived at gate no 23 around 6:30 am. A lot of pushing and shoving happened as it was a huge milling crowd, and more than two hours later I am remained outside as police did not allow entry.

"I pleaded to the police personnel but to no avail. All I could see was a few aircraft showering flower petals. I will try will luck next time," he rued.

There was a massive gathering at the Rajpath to attend the annual celebrations and January 26 being a Sunday added to the crowds.

More than one lakh people had gathered near the India Gate for the Republic Day celebration, a senior police officer said. "Many people could not get entry, as the enclosure area was already full," he said.

Poonam Kumari, who came from neighbouring Faridabad, along with her husband and their infant daughter, blamed authorities for not being able to attend the parade.

"I came here at 7 am and waited interminably long and then after reaching near the entrance to the enclosures, I was told by police personnel that entry is closed. They should have managed the crowd well. I saw one side of the street facing the entrance was quite thin, still all crowd was packed on one side," she said.

Monsieur Derrier, a French tourist who came to India about a week ago to attend the Jaipur Literature Festival and Republic Day celebrations, could not get entry to the visitors' enclosure either.

"I stood in a very long queue, but before I could reach the main gate, police barred entry. I spent most of time roaming on the roads. Officials were not of much help," he rued.

Ruby Yadav, 28, carried her one-and-a-half-year-old girl in her arms for hours as her husband pleaded to police to allow them entry.

"We came from Faridabad, hoping we could see Modiji and the parade. It was a very difficult situation. We came out of the queue for the safety of our child. It feels bad," she said.

India on Sunday celebrated its 71st Republic Day with a grand display of military prowess, vibrant cultural diversity and socio-economic progress on the majestic Rajpath where thousands of people, besides foreign dignitaries and country's top political and military leadership witnessed the annual parade.

Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro was the chief guest for this year's ceremony and watched the colourful parade at the historic avenue along with President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of other leaders.

A majestic flypast at the end of the parade drew loud applause from the spectators. PTI GVS/KND NIT DPB