Patriotic fervour grips Delhi on 75th Independence Day

Men and women dressed in saffron, white and green clothes and children got the national flag painted on their cheeks as Delhi soaked in the colours of "desh bhakti" on the 75th Independence Day on Sunday.

A number of people gathered in central Delhi's Connaught Place and on the roads leading to the iconic India Gate in the afternoon despite muggy weather to participate in the celebrations.

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Groups of men and women dressed in tricoloured clothes clicked selfies with the 207-ft high national flag, the star attraction of Central Park, in the background.

Many saluted the fluttering flag and hummed patriotic songs.

The tricolour was also seen on many DTC buses, autorickshaws and motorcycles on the roads, while government buildings and other establishments stood adorned with patterns created using flowers and leaves that resembled the tricolour.

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Most establishments in central Delhi remained closed, while bars did not serve alcohol.

For hawkers selling plastic flags, the sales were hit as fewer people stepped out due to the Covid-19 pandemic and government restrictions.

"We would sell a good number of cloth and plastic flags in the week leading to Independence Day, but the sales have gone down. On normal days, there would be larger crowds than this," 13-year-old Pradeep said.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered his eighth consecutive address from the ramparts of Red Fort, calling for making the next 25 years glorious for India with "new thresholds, aspirations and dreams" in the run-up to the centenary of its independence from British colonial rule.