The national flag was hoisted on Hope Island near Kakinada.
Kakinada: An inspector general of police-level officer unfurled the National Flag on the Hope Island in Bay of Bengal near the Kakinada coast on Thursday.
As part of the directives of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Tricolour had been raised on the Hope Island by the IGP of North Coastal Security (Visakhapatnam) Gopinath Jetti in the presence of Kakinada superintendent of police G. Bindu Madhav.
Jetti said such flag hoisting ceremonies are being jointly organised by the central and state governments with the objective of affirming national sovereignty and integrity, symbolically recognising islands as integral parts of the Indian territory. The IGP said Hope Island has been included in the list of islands identified by the Government of India for hoisting of the National Flag.
About 80 families, depending on fishing, reside on Hope Island. Last year, local marine and revenue officials hoisted the Tricolour on the island.
Those who attended the flag-hoisting ceremony included District Forest Officer N. Ramachandra Rao, Kakinada ASP Patil Dev Raj Manish, Indian Coast Guard Commandant A.V. Ramam, Customs Superintendent M.V. Subrahmanyam, Marine South DSP (Visakhapatnam) G. Balireddy, Marine circle inspectors T. Rammohan Reddy (Vakalapudi) and M.V.V.S.N. Murthy (Odalarevu), and Kakinada Port Station circle inspector P. Sunil Kumar.
