With Beating of the Retreat and spectacular Folk Dance Competition, the 77th Republic Day Celebration ended today. The closing ceremony was held at the Parade Ground of 1st Battalion, Manipur Rifles in Imphal. Governor of Manipur Ajay Kumar Bhalla distributed prizes to different categories of March Past Competition held yesterday. Shri Puneet Kumar Goel, Chief Secretary of Manipur, MLAs and top civil and police officers attended the ceremony.
The event marked the culmination of the Republic Day celebrations, during which prizes and awards were presented to various contingents, institutions, and departments for their outstanding performances and participation.
For Uniform Contingent, 4th Mahar (Borders) Regiment and Assam Rifles stood first, Border Security Force (BSF) Contingent stood second while 11th Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) stood third position. For school contingents (Uniform) KGBV Andro ranked first, Manipur Public School (Girls) ranked second and T.G. Hr. Sec. School secured third position.
In College contingents, D.M. College of Science (Boys & Girls) got the first position, second by Liberal College and third by Manipur College. For the NCC Contingent, 14th NCC Senior Boys & Girls was ranked first, 65th Girls NCC got the second position and NCC Senior Air Wing was ranked third. In the Band Party, Assam Rifles Band Platoon, 1st IRB Band Platoon and CRPF Band Platoon secured 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.
For Gate Construction, Sericulture Department topped the list while Forest Department and Tourism Department secured 2nd and 3rd positions. For Tableau, Tourism Department ranked 1st while Handloom and Textiles, Department of Textile, Commerce & Industry ranked 2nd and Forest Department ranked 3rd in the competition. In the Cultural Dance Group, Salairen Cultural Research Institute, Imphal West secured 1st while Chakama Arts & Culture Academy, Kamjong District secured second and The Performing Entrancement Arts & Cultural Evolution, Thoubal secured 3rd position.
Special prizes were distributed to Parade Commander, N. Madhunimai Singh, MPS, CO-8th MR; Guard of Honour Commander, Abhijeet Pandey, IPS Probationer; Commandant, 1st Bn., Manipur Rifles, Imphal; Directors of Education Department, Higher & Technical Education Department, Art & Culture Department, TA & Hills Department, IPR Department, Health Services Department and Fire Services Department.
Chief Engineers of PWD, PHED & Water Resources Departments; Managing Directors (MSPDCL), Manipur; Municipal Commissioners, IMC; Superintendent, Manipur State Archaeology/Kangla Board; Ex-Servicemen Contingent, Sainik School Contingents, Manipur Fire Service Contingent, Children Home Child Care Institutes (Imphal West & East), Anouba Mangal Contingent, ICDS Anganwadi Contingent, Differently Abled Persons Contingent, ASHA Workers (Imphal West & East), Mounted Police Contingent and Un-Armed Combat Contingent were also given the special prizes.
The Governor also distributed cash prizes with citation to the winners of the folk-dance competition held today at the ground. Governor handed over a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh to the winner of the competition-Ibudhou Loyalakpa Manipuri Dance Group, Bishnupur District; a cash prize of Rs. 75,000 was handed over to Echel Jagoi Lup, Jiribam District for securing 2nd position; and Rs. 50,000 to Chakama Arts and Cultural Academy, Kamjong District for winning 3rd position in the competition. Also, all participating troupes were awarded ₹15,000 each along with certificates.
The Governor presented red blanket to 14 Village Chiefs/Khullakpas from 8 (Eight) Hill Districts namely, Chandel, Kamjong, Kangpokpi, Noney, Senapati, Tamenglong, Churachandpur and Tengnoupal who came to witness the Republic Day Celebration in Imphal.
