many schoolchildren also presented cultural items here the ceremonial parade began with showering of petals from a helicopter followed by the national anthem at commissioner office divisional commissioner prashant trivedi hoisted the national flag the parade also included an exhibition of two 105 mm light field guns led by subedar kk singh chauhan and havaldar ravindra singh and bmp 2 vehicles led by havaldar manoj kumar hundred years old mary weather owned by up fire services was also an attraction an event was organised by the sashastra seema bal ssb at sankalp bhawan its office in lucknow the major highlights were the tableaux on vote awareness by chief electoral officer ecogreen garden put up by information department save power in national interest by up power corporation ltd educated india developed indiaright to education by lucknow public schools and colleges and others various cultural programmes and marchpasts were also a part of the celebrations government and private organisations also celebrated the day with equal fanfare the main function was held at vidhan sabha and was presided over by governor bl joshi adding the fervour was the up police contingent including 32nd battalion pac 35th battalion pac brass band home guards contingent lucknow a relay of 14 tableaus from various quarters of the society followed the parade the best parade among the schools was given to st jospeh inter college while lucknow public school bagged the first place in cultural drill the women contingent of pac was headed by gayatri sharma on the day leaders offered special prayers and sought blessings for the nation with patriotic fervor the unfurling of the tricolour took place outside vidhan sabha at around 930 am ncc boys and girl contingents along with sainik school brass band also took breath there were also performances by the brass brands of sikh and agra regiments that created a patriotic atmosphere at the collectorate district magistrate dm ak sagar unfurled the tricolour in presence of employees and several officials among the number of events missiles and tanks were treat to the eyes the 63rd republic day was celebrated with usual gaiety in the state capital on thursday flag hoisting ceremony was conducted at all government offices schools and at other places it was then followed by various contingents drawn from different armed regiments having a dozen contingents the parade was led by colonel ashish singh meanwhile all the prominent buildings in the city including the vidhan sabha were decorated with the national tricolour