Tricolour Flies High In Kashmir’s Pahalgam: CRPF Unfurls 68-Foot Flag To Encourage Nationalism And Promote Tourism

One of the tallest tricolours in the Kashmir Valley, flying at 68 feet high, has been hoisted by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at one of its battalion headquarters in the picturesque tourist town of Pahalgam in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district, The Tribune has reported . A 63 feet high CRPF flag was also unfurled along with the tricolour.

Inspector General (IG), Operations (Kashmir), CRPF, Zulfiqar Hassan unfurled the two flags at Pahalgam on 1 December.

Explaining the rationale behind the move, he stated, “Kashmir’s basic industry is tourism and now people, especially tourists, feel that it is unsafe. But if we have the national flag and the CRPF flag flying high in one of the most popular tourist destinations of Kashmir like Pahalgam then people will know that there is normalcy and it is safe to come to Kashmir.”

He added that another aim of the move was to motivate the CRPF troops deployed in the area with a sense of nationalism.

The dimensions of the flag are 12 foot by 18 foot and it will be kept illuminated at night, as per Commandant of 116 Battalion of the CRPF Raj Kumar. He further explained that although the tricolour hoisted at Srinagar Airport was higher, Pahalgam was located at a higher altitude. This makes it the highest tricolour in Kashmir.