Ambassador Dr. Deepak Mittal and others cut a cake to mark the Republic Day of India at Indian Embassy in Doha, yesterday.
The 73rd Republic Day of India was marked at the Embassy of India in Doha yesterday, with great fervour and enthusiasm while strictly following COVID-19 measures.
Ambassador of India to Qatar, H E Dr. Deepak Mittal, hoisted the National Flag at the Embassy premises followed by the national anthem. Addressing the event, the Ambassador said Qatar has allocated a piece of land to Indian Embassy to build its premises. Sharing details about the land with The Peninsula, Dr. Mittal said: “We are very grateful to Qatar for allocating a plot of land to build a permanent structure as premises of our embassy, responding to the demand of Indian community.” He said that the 5,000 sqm plot is located at Diplomatic Enclave in Onaiza.
“The project is in designing stage. The plans are afoot to construct the project in coming year,” said the Ambassador. He said that the permanent structure of Indian embassy in Doha will have administrative building, a community hall, an auditorium and other facilities enabling to hold cultural and other events for Indian expatriate community.
Ambassador pays tribute to the Father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
The Ambassador said ‘India in Qatar' mobile app enables members of Indian expatriate community to avail the services provided by the embassy.
He said the services available on the app include taking appointments for consular services and even raise their issues if they have. “The app is initially launched in English. However, we are working to add more Indian languages.”
“Pravasi Bhartiya Sahayta Kendra (PBSK) Qatar, a call centre, started operating in three languages — Hindi, English and Malayalam. More languages will be added to the call centre like Tamil, Telugu and Kannada enabling Indian expatriate community to easily reach out to the embassy for any inquiry or solution. PBSK Qatar is a service to provide round-the-clock support to Indian expats through its helpline - 4495 3500 and email [email protected],” he added. The function was followed by rendering of patriotic songs and folk dances from Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Assam performed by Indian community members. The event was held in a hybrid format with simultaneous live streaming on social media handles and on YouTube channel of the Embassy for attending the event virtually.
The Ambassador appreciated the commendable role played by Indian community in Qatar in various sectors. The Ambassador also interacted with Indian community.
The Ambassador read the address by President of India H E Ram Nath Kovind on the eve of 73rd Republic Day.
“My heartiest greetings to all of you, in India and abroad, on the eve of the 73rd Republic Day! It is an occasion to celebrate what is common to us all, our Indian-ness. It was on this day in 1950 that this sacred essence of us all assumed a formal shape. That day, India was established as the largest democratic republic and ‘we the people’ put into effect a Constitution that is an inspired document of our collective vision.
"The diversity and vibrancy of our democracy is appreciated world-wide. It is this spirit of unity and of being one nation which is celebrated every year as Republic Day. This year’s celebrations may be muted due to the pandemic, but the spirit is as strong as ever ,” the President's message read.
