This School Becomes Himachal's New Tourist Destination. Gets 108-Foot National Flag.

Dharamsala: Dalhousie Public School has become a landmark for visitors to the hill station in Himachal Pradesh, thanks to its 108-feet national flag, touted as the tallest in the state.

Visible from far with Dhauladhar mountain range providing the perfect backdrop, the flag stands proud next to other attractions of national pride at the school like a MIG 21 fighter, surface-to-air Pichora missile and the T-55 battle tank, attracting 25,000 visitors a month during the tourist season, school authorities said.

"The flag is at a height of 7,000 feet above mean sea level. It's the tallest structure to dot the landscape of Himachal Pradesh. It is not only a major tourist attraction now, but also evokes a sense of pride among our students and youth," said the school's Principal, GS Dhillon.

"We procured it from the Flag Foundation of India. It flag itself weighs 8.5 kg and its dimension is 20X30 feet. The mast weighs 1,500 kgs. It is illuminated at night by two metal-halide lamps of 400 Watt each and is visible both from the town and a surrounding areas," Mr Dhillon added.

He said the installation of mast itself required a lot of logistical support and thinking.

"It was transported in three pars by road. It is made up of high tensile, galvnised steel to give it maximum strength. It can bear wind speeds up to 170 km per hour and has a flexibility of one feet when the winds are fierce," the principal said.

He said the flag is operated through a remote control and the steel wires which hold the flag are so designed that any person can easily operate the mechanism.

"Around 25,000 tourists, mainly youngsters, have thronging the place every month during current summer season. We expect the figure to cross 100,000 during the season."