For the first time in 75 years, the Republic Day Parade will start late than the scheduled time.

A senior police officer said that every year the Republic Day parade used to start at 10 am, but this year it will start at 10.30 am.

He said the delay is due to restrictions related to COVID-19 and before the parade begins, tributes will be paid to the security personnel who lost their lives in Jammu and Kashmir.

“The parade ceremony will be 90 minutes long like last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the National War Memorial near India Gate. Later, the contingent will perform a march past. Tableaux representing cultural diversity, social and economic progress will be displayed during this parades,” he said.

The official said the tableaux would go up to the Red Fort and be erected there for public display, but the marching parties would stay at the National Stadium.

Due to restrictions related to COVID-19, artists performing in cultural events on Republic Day are not allowed to meet anyone. He said that they travel in sanitized vehicles and are kept in isolation to avoid getting infected.

“Tributes will be paid to the security personnel of Jammu and Kashmir Police who lost their lives in the line of duty,” he said.

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.