Howrah Bridge

Kolkata October 21: Kolkata’s iconic Howrah Bridge is illuminated in the colours of the national flag on Thursday to mark India’s 100 crore Covid-19 vaccine milestone.

From the Qutub Minar in Delhi to Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, a total of 100 iconic monuments across the country are being lit up in the tricolour to celebrate India’s milestone of administering more than 100 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses.

Some other UNESCO World Heritage Sites that are being lit up include Tughlaqabad Fort, Purana Qila, Fatehpur Sikri Agra, Ramappa Temple, Hampi, Dholavira (Gujarat), ancient Leh Palace; Currency Building and Metcalf Hall in Kolkata; Khajuraho temples (Madhya Pradesh), and Golconda Fort in Hyderabad.

Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya shares a glimpse of Howrah Bridge on Twitter.

“The iconic Howrah bridge, West Bengal beautifully illuminated in colourful lights to mark 100 crores COVID vaccination feat,” the tweet read.

Dr Mansukh Mandaviya launched a special song and an audio-visual film to celebrate the milestone. Mandaviya tweeted the song and the audio-visual film.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the landmark reached in a little over nine months’ time since the countrywide vaccination drive was launched on January 16 as a triumph of Indian science, enterprise, and collective spirit of 130 crores.

This will be a tribute to health professionals, frontline workers, scientists, vaccine manufacturers, and the citizens of the country who bravely fought the pandemic.

The illumination is part of the activities being planned around the milestone across the country.

Also Read: India: ASI illuminates 100 monuments in tricolour to celebrate 100 crore vaccinations | See pics

India reached the one billion COVID-19 vaccinations milestone this morning. The government wants all of India’s 944 million adults to get vaccinated this year. Three-quarters of adults in the country of 1.3 billion people have had one shot and around 30 per cent are fully vaccinated, the government said.