KoPT tableau expected to roll down Rajpath on Republic Day

In a first in India's maritime history, the Kolkata Port Trust is likely to showcase its tableau during the Republic Day parade, sources said, giving people, who were earlier sore over the rejection of the Bengal government's proposal for January 26, a reason to cheer.

Earlier in the month, the defence ministry had rejected West Bengal's tableau proposal, without citing any specific reason.

A statement by the ministry said the proposal was rejected after an expert committee examined it in two rounds of meeting.

The KoPT tableau, under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Shipping, will display the riverine port's rich history, its mechanized transformation and unique features, a source privy to the development said.

Additionally, the KoPT anthem, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unveiled last week on the occasion of the port's sesquicentenary celebrations, will be played, when the tableau rolls down the Rajpath.

The prime minister, during his visit, had renamed the port, after Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee.

"As of now, trials are going on.... The final approval for the theme - 'Glorious Past Vibrant Future' - is likely to come by January 23," the sources said.

The Kolkata Port Trust, the oldest operating port in the country, was constructed by the British East India Company. The port has two distinct dock systems - one in Kolkata and the other at Haldia.