6.61 lakh functions organized to celebrate I-Day in Kashmir

A 750 sq ft national flag which traveled from Sikkim to Antarctica displayed at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. -Excelsior/Shakeel
A 750 sq ft national flag which traveled from Sikkim to Antarctica displayed at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. -Excelsior/Shakeel

17.47 lakh attend tricolor hoisting in schools
Sanjeev Pargal

JAMMU, Aug 16: Hoisting of tricolor in the Kashmir valley has created a history with total functions surpassing 6.60 lakh and over 17 lakh people attending the Independence Day celebrations organized by Government and private institutions.
Response to the Independence Day functions and hoisting of tricolor was also very encouraging in South Kashmir.
A total of 6,61,357 functions were held in Government and private institutions as well as in individual houses across the Kashmir valley on the occasion of Independence Day yesterday.
Baramulla district topped in the total functions on Independence Day with 1,37,887 followed by South Kashmir’s Anantnag district where 1,31,306 functions were held. Only other district to cross one lakh figure was Kupwara where 1,19,018 functions were organized.
Another district of South Kashmir, Kulgam, was at the bottom with 16,244 functions.
South Kashmir’s Pulwama district hosted 90,110 functions while Srinagar district held 58,244 and Budgam district celebrated I-Day in 32452 functions.
As many as 30591 Independence Day functions were organized in Ganderbal, 29107 in Bandipora and 16398 in Shopian.
Participation by the people, school students and staff in both Government and private institutions in August 15 functions across the Kashmir valley was also very encouraging.
Here, Kupwara district took the lead with 3,34,841 participants followed by 3,15,078 in Baramulla and 3,14,864 in Anantnag. Attendance in the functions in Srinagar district’s institutions was 2,91,844.
In Kulgam district, 1,23,437 persons joined the I-Day functions in institutions while the number was 1,14,422 in Budgam.
Functions in the institutions in Pulwama district were joined by 98662 persons, 69018 in Bandipora district, 64946 in Ganderbal district and 20163 in Shopian district.
Total Government institutions to join the Independence Day functions were highest in Anantnag district at 6901 while number of private schools was 405.
In Kupwara district, 5651 Government and 367 private institutions organized the functions while similar numbers in Baramulla district were 5134 and 403.
In Pulwama district 3320 Government institutions and 790 private schools hosted the Independence Day functions followed by2735 and 271 in Kulgam, 2246 and 216 in Srinagar, 1576 and133 in Ganderbal, 1351 and 130 in Bandipora and 1259 and 139 in Shopian.
As many as 6,27,876 individual functions were organized in houses in Kashmir during Independence Day.
They include 1,32,350 in Baramulla, 1,24,000 in Anantnag, 1,13,000 in Kupwara, 86,000 in Pulwama, 55782 in Srinagar, 32,000 in Budgam, 28,882 in Ganderbal, 27,626 in Bandipora, 15,000 in Shopian and 13,236 in Kulgam.