India hoists tallest tricolour at Attari border, can even be seen from Lahore

India has hoisted a huge national flag near its border with archrival Pakistan. It has now turned into a major attraction for the thousands of tourists who visit the place daily to watch the iconic flag-lowering ritual.

India's biggest tricolor - measuring 110 meters (360-foot) in length, 24 meters in width and weighing 55 tons - is an engineering marvel. It was inaugurated on Sunday, March 5, near India's international border with Pakistan. 

To erect it at Attari, a small border village in the state of Punjab, special cranes as well as seven big trolleys had to be brought all the way from Mumbai.

What's more, three 65-foot-high poles, each with light-emitting diodes (LED), illuminate the flag which is said to be high enough to be visible from the Pakistani city of Lahore.

 The entire project cost some 3.5 crore rupees (about 500,000 euros, $530,000).

'Adding to the optics'

"This dream project has finally turned into reality and we have set it up near the tourist building just around 200 meters from the India-Pakistan border. It is symbolic and the locale is ideal," Anil Joshi, a minister in the state of Punjab, told DW following the inaugural ceremony. "Since it is just near the border where thousands come every day to watch the retreat ceremony, it will inculcate a strong sense of patriotism," added Joshi.