Independence Day 2023: monuments across India shine in tricolour

Monuments across the country were lit up in the Indian tricolours on the eve of the 77th Independence Day.

From the India Gate in Delhi to the Gateway of India in Mumbai and the Howrah Bridge in Kolkata, these iconic sites dazzled in saffron, white and green.

Security has been stepped up across the country at sensitive locations.

Delhi has been wrapped in a security blanket for Tuesday's 77th Independence Day celebrations, with more than 10,000 personnel manning the area in and around the Red Fort from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation, police said.

Around 1,000 cameras with facial recognition and video analytic systems have been installed in and around the Mughal-era fort and at other strategic locations to ensure security and monitor VVIP movements, the police said on Tuesday.

The Gyan Path in front of Red Fort will be decked with flowers and G20 signages. However, there will be no major decorations on the fort's rampart from where the prime minister addresses the nation.

The government has invited around 1,800 special guests from across the country to attend the programme. Seventy-five couples from each state and Union Territory, in their traditional attire, have been invited to witness the ceremony. Sarpanches of vibrant villages, nurses, fisherfolk and labourers engaged in the construction of the Central Vista project are also among the special invitees.