AP govt to hold Republic Day 2020 parade in Visakhapatnam

As the whole nation is gearing up to celebrate the 71st Republic Day, Visakhapatnam is all set to host the annual parade in 2020. At a high-level meeting, chaired by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the State Government has decided to organise the event in the city. 

After receiving confirmation, from the AP General Administration Department (GAD), Visakhapatnam District officials have been making necessary arrangements to host the Republic Day event in the city. Visakhapatnam District Collector, V Vinay Chand (IAS), held a preliminary meeting with State Government Protocol Director, J V Murali, at the Collectorate. Speaking to the media, the District Collector informed that three venues, including the Indira Priyadarshini Municipal Stadium, RK Beach, and AU College of Engineering Grounds, have been shortlisted for the venue. He further added that the venue would be finalised soon. 

Republic Day honours the date, 26 January 1950, on which the Constitution of India came into effect as the governing document of India. Since then, the annual Republic Day Parade takes place at Rajpath, New Delhi, with a grand display of the country’s military might and rich cultural diversity. 

After the state bifurcation in June 2014, the previous government conducted the Independence Day and Republic Day events in different towns and cities. Vijayawada had remained as the venue for ceremonial events, for the last two years.  

The decision of conducting the Republic Day parade in Visakhapatnam holds prominence, as the Chief Minister had earlier, hinted that Vizag could soon become the Executive Capital of the State. It is expected that all the government offices, including the State Secretariat, would be shifted to Visakhapatnam before the first half of the current year. 

In this regard, the Principal Secretary to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Praveen Prakash, visited Visakhapatnam on 4 January, 2020, to inspect the possible locations where the Secretariat and CM’s office could be built. This move comes in after the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and GN Rao Committee suggested that Visakhapatnam would be ideal to build the State capital.