KOLKATA: The "Swarnim Vijay Mashaal" -- a flame lit at the National War Memorial last year to celebrate 50 years of India’s glorious victory in the Indo Pak War of 1971 – will be received in Kolkata on Friday after travelling the length and breadth of the country since the Mashaal started its journey from Delhi on December 16, 2020.
The Mashaal will be in the city for the next one week while being exhibited at multiple city hotspots before it resumes its journey towards the national capital where the journey will conclude at the war memorial in Delhi on January 16, 2021, which is also celebrated annually as "Vijay Divas" – to commemorate the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971.
Since starting its journey from Delhi, the victory flame – one of the four that had headed to four directions in the country -- had reached Kolkata on March this year before it went to the north eastern states travelling in army vehicles and naval ships and is set to return to the city on Friday after a thorough visit of the seven states in north east.
On Friday, the Mashaal will be received at Eco Park in New Town at 12 noon in presence of defence officials and a host of personalities including actor – MP Mimi Chakraborty, state transport and housing minister Firhad Hakim, actor Abir Chatterjee and Bidhannagar Deputy Mayor Tapas Chatterjee.
"Over the weekend the mashaal will be carried to the 1971 war veterans before it will be exhibited at South City Mall on Monday evening. The next four days, it will be exhibited at INS Netaji, Kolkata airport, BSF Headquarter at Dum Dum and Kolkata Police headquarters at Lalbazar before it departs for Delhi on December 4," said an Indian Army official
