Hyderabad: The city has no expert to stitch the largest tricolour that flies at Sanjeevaiah Park, and the state government has hired three professionals from Delhi. Seven flags were procured in all, four of them in the second instalment. Three of them have been damaged since June 2, when the flag was first hoisted.
The state staff is not trained to hoist or bring the flag down; it is currently being done by staff provided by the flag vendor. Though the largest tricolour has become a tourist attraction, the HMDA, the monitoring body, has not created a visitor-friendly environment around the landmark. There are no signboards leading to the flag, and there is no seating.
Big rush
Gandhinagar resident Vikram Goud, 62, who recently visited the park, told this correspondent, “When I asked the watchman where the flag was located, he just said ‘straight and left’. The flag is located 1 km from the gate. I had to keep asking visitors for directions. At the site there are no benches to sit on,” he said adding the site has information on different birds.
“For eatables and water, one has to walk to the distant food courts,” said Ms Prashanthi Kumari, a student at the park.
Many visitors struggle to take a selfie with the flag in the background, but find it difficult to frame it due to the size of th Tricolour.
Officials have not even marked the spots from where the best selfies can be taken, Asked about the lack of facilities, a HMDA official said architects have been asked to design seating around the flag mast. There was a plan to develop greenery and landscape the place around the flag, he said.
He said there was a plan to run a paid battery-operated trolley service. Tenders had been called for to set up a food court near the site. He said a separate selfie spot was being planned.
