Khammam man gets honour of sewing the largest flag

This June 2 will be a special day not just because that it is the second anniversary of Telangana State Formation Day, but the day is set to witness unfurling of the largest national flag ever hoisted on the Indian soil. A flag with dimensions of 72-feet-by-108-feet is being stitched by 53-year-old Kambhampati Sanjeev Rao, a native of Khammam and an accounts officer in DRDA Department, Nalgonda.

It may be mentioned here that the government has plans to hoist a largest national flag at Sanjeevaiah Park in Hyderabad to mark the Formation Day celebrations. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is slated to hoist the flag on June 2. Impressed by Sanjeev Rao’s passion for the study of flags for which he attended at least 11 international conferences in countries like USA, UK, Germany, France, Japan, Argentina etc.,

the Chief Minister has gave him the opportunity to stitch the largest flag. The earlier record of the flag size was 66-feet-by-99-feet hoisted at a height of 293-feet flag mast on Pahari Mandir in Ranchi on January 23 this year. Rao, who himself is stitching the flag from May 21, said



that he will be ready with the flag by May 29. Sanjeev Rao has claimed that he is the only person to have 20 years of experience in the field of flag research.

He also shared a few details about the flag. The flag will be unfurled only with the help of a motorised mechanism due to its gigantic size. The flag which is made of polyester cloth could not withstand the atmospheric pressure for more than two months. The height of the flag mast is 301 feet and is manufactured in Kolkata. The flag mast is being ferried to Hyderabad and is expected to reach by May 28.

Thanking the Chief Minister for giving the opportunity, Sanjeev Rao also expressed gratitude to the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) CEO Anita Ramachandran for encouraging him.  Meanwhile, the construction of flag mast at the Sanjeevaiah Park hit a roadblock with the Airport Authority of India (AAI) raising objection over the height flag mast as it was close to Begumpet Airport. However, it is learnt that State government has been pursuing the matter with the Central government to get the permission.