Republic day parade: It's raining in Delhi and the Flypast may be under threat

It’s raining in Delhi but that has not dampened the enthusiasm for Republic Day Celebrations. However, w According to the MeT department, it could well rain till around 11am. This won’t affect the parade per se, but could well impact the flypast ceremony. NDTV quoted an IAF source as saying the flypast, a highlight of the parade, might be cancelled because of the weather, but as of now there is no confirmation on whether the flypast has been cancelled or not.

#Happy Republic Day! Fly past is on, after all, IAF sources tell @VishnuNDTV

— Suparna Singh (@Suparna_Singh) January 26, 2015

It must be noted that the US secret service wanted the flypast cancelled initially but India refused to relent. The US president’s security detail had wanted a no-fly zone imposed over the national capital and had also objected to the flypast on the basis that one of the aircraft could be used as a weapon. However India had refused, saying that it was an integral part of the parade.

Meanwhile, the civilian flights at Delhi will be affected for a period of 90 minutes but that happens on each Republic Day when the flypast is taking place. This is done as the IAF and Navy planes will fly in from various airbases and rendezvous just West outside Delhi to fly in over President’s House Rajpath.