THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The tallest flag mast in the country to hoist the mammoth national flag to be installed at the entrance of the Kanakakkunnu Palace here has been brought to the city. The 65-metre long stainless steel flagpole will carry a national flag 72 feet long and 48 feet wide atop.
The spokesman of the Flag Foundation of India spokesman K V Singh had stated in a news conference few months ago that the government had given special permission to allow the flag to remain hoisted round the clock. The flagpole would be illuminated with floodlights during the night. Flag Foundation of India founded by noted industrialist and MP Naveen Jindal is installing the flagpole at the request of the Thiruvananthapuram MP, Shashi Tharoor.
The project to erect such flagpoles in different parts of the country draws inspiration from the initiatives of Naveen Jindal, to make the national flag more accessible to the people. Kerala will be the eighth state to have such an ornamental flagpole.
This flagpole would be as tall as the third storey of the Qutab Minar. It would weigh 12.5 tonnes. At the base, the diameter would be 4.5 feet and at the top it would be 1.5 feet.
As per the understanding between the government and the Foundation, the District Tourism Promotion Council would be tasked with maintaining the flagpole, according to Singh. Officials at the office of Shashi Tharoor informed Express that a meeting of the Flag Foundation CEO and the District Collector was held last week to expedite the installation of the ornamental flagpole.
The Tourism Department has handed over two cents of land at Kanakakkunnu to the Revenue Department for the purpose. However, the officials at the MP’s office did not say when the flagpole could be installed.
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