Republic Day 2021: No shoulder to shoulder march-past by NSG commandos this year

New Delhi: By the time you decide to leave your bed on lazy winter mornings, National Security Guard (NSG) commandos rehearsing for the Republic Day Parade finish their practice and start gearing up for the next session of training.

NSG commandos sweat for at least 5 hours to give a flawless marching past on Republic Day at the majestic Rajpath, which is a hub nowadays for forces taking part in the Republic Day parade as their practice venue. 

This year NSG, the elite force of India for counter-terror operations, has decided to make changes for the Republic Day parade as per the COVID-19 health protocols.

NSG commandos will be marching with a distance of more than 1.5 metres from each other. Earlier, they used to march down Rajpath from shoulder to shoulder. The distance will be visible from a distance as NSG commandos will be following the COVID-19 protocols.

Almost 40 per cent of the actual strength of the commandos will participate in the Republic Day Parade as compared to the previous year. A bunch of commandos along with senior Indian Army and Paramilitary officers reach Rajpath at 5 am in the morning every day and practice till 10 am.

"We reach here at 5 am and start our practice. It is a daily routine for us. There is not much difference. After reaching Rajpath we practice again and again till our marching is flawless. Officers minutely observed every commando to make the march past flawless," a senior NSG official said.

"This year on Republic Day, we will be having more vehicles than the previous year. People will see a different energy contingent along with modified specially designed vehicles which are to be used for anti-terror operations," the official added.