New Delhi, Jan 18 (IANS) Sangram will majestically amble down Rajpath this Republic Day Jan 26. The 16-year-old camel of the Border Security Force (BSF) is set to be retired by the end of the year.
For Sangram, the oldest among the BSFÂ’s camel contingent, it will be his 11th and last parade and watching him on Jan 26 will be not only Prime Minister Narendra Modi but also the chief guest, US President Barack Obama.
Sangram will be part of a contingent of 90 camels. He is an expert in executing commands," says his handler Arab Khan, 45, with pride.
"Sangram is one of the luckiest camels of our contingent to display his last parade before the world's most protected leader Barack Obama," Khan told IANS.
Sangram, who stands at seven-and-a-half feet, was at the head of the camel contingent at last year's parade but will this time be placed in the middle, behind the more youthful camels.
"Sangram was the front runner in last year's Republic Day parade. As he has become old, we decided to shift him to the middle row of our contingent," BSF Deputy Commandant Kuldeep Choudhary told IANS.
The camel leading the contingent at this year's Republic Day will be a young camel with the batch number T7/10, the official said.
Sangram, who had the batch number S4/135, is a Jaisalmeri breed camel. He was inducted into the BSF on Jan 12, 2004 when he was five years old, and began participating in the parades from the next year onwards.
"Sangram is now in Delhi along with 99 other male camels. He is rehearsing for his career's last Republic Day parade," the BSF official said.
The BSF has an authorized strength of 1,200 male camels. Camels, mostly male, are acquired when they are five years old after a proper veterinary inspection. On an average, a camel serves the force for 15 years, said Choudhary.
The official, who has worked with the camel contingent, said Sangram was purchased for Rs.8,600 from Rajasthan's Barmer district and trained at the BSF's subsidiary training centre in Jodhpur.
Recalling Sangram's time with the force, the official said: "Initially, he was deployed at Pokhran and later posted for border duties for five months. He was taken to the Jodhpur training centre in June 2004 where he is presently stationed."
"Sangram first time participated in a BSF Day parade in 2004. Since then he has participated in several ceremonial parades," he added.
The camel mounted contingent, commanded by Choudhary along with two subordinate officers (inspector and sub-inspector) and 88 other officers (head constables and constables) will be participating in this year's parade.
A camel mounted band contingent commanded by sub-inspector Phoola Ram along with 35 other officers will also be part of the parade.
Heavy rains have caused flood situations in many states of the country. Life has become hectic. I
UK major Cairn gets Income Tax demand
New Delhi, March 11 (IANS) Going contrary to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's promise that India
Delhi Traffic Police told what is the true meaning of this photo of Dinesh Karthik and Rohit Sharma
The first match of the three-match T20 series was played between Team India and Australia in Moha
Dangerous tests were done on humans in this unit of the Japanese army, its story is horrifying
'Unit 731' is an example of the extent to which a human being can hate another human being. The e
The Developed India - Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural) Bill 2025, also kno
MP Exit Polls 2023: Elections for 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh have been completed on 17th Novembe
Three phones of Xiaomi's Mi 10T series launched will compete with this Samsung phone
Smartphone company Xiaomi has launched the Mi 10T series. The company has launched three phones u
Even before the start of the 16th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023), the Delhi Capit
The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on 7 October. According to Time magazine, two Indian citi
Ahead of the India Alliance meeting, Trinamool Congress (TMC) has advised the Congress to give up
