Rivers are profound cultural symbols, serving as the “lifeblood” of civilizations and repositories of collective heritage and cultural diversity. In a unique initiative this year, enclosures for Republic Day Parade have been named after the Rivers, flowing across the nation, i.e. Beas, Brahmaputra, Chambal, Chenab, Gandak, Ganga, Ghagra, Godavari, Sindhu, Jhelum, Kaveri, Kosi, Krishna, Mahanadi, Narmada, Pennar, Periyar, Ravi, Sone, Sutlej, Teesta, Vaigai and Yamuna.

A total of 163 Special Guests comprising of water warriors will attend the Republic Day Parade 2026 at Kartavya Path, New Delhi as Special Guests of Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR). This comprises of 28 persons from Uttarakhand, 10 persons from Jharkhand, 40 persons from Bihar and 85 persons from Uttar Pradesh.

Ganga Praharis – Guardians of the river are motivated and trained volunteers from among the local communities working for biodiversity conservation and cleanliness of the Ganga River with the ultimate objectives of restoring the Nirmal and Aviral Dhara and conserve the ecological integrity of Ganga River under joint collaboration of National Mission for Clean Ganga and Wildlife Institute of India.

Besides the Ganga Praharis, private citizens/NGOs involved in the protection and conservation of aquatic fauna i.e. dolphins, turtles etc. and river conservation and community outreach have also been invited for witnessing the Republic Day Parade.

This Special Guest invitation not only recognizes community contribution but also provides an opportunity for rural citizens to witness a national-level ceremony of historic significance at Kartavya Path. Their presence will reinforce the message of people’s participation (Jan

Bhagidari) and community engagement as central elements of national development efforts. These Special guests will be seated in Periyar enclosure.

Sh. V. L. Kantha Rao, Secretary, DoWR, RD & GR will be participating in Republic Day Celebrations from Ghaghra enclosure.

These Special Guests will also be interacting with the Hon. Minister of Jal Shakti Sh. C.R. Patil and both the Ministers of State Sh. V. Somanna and Sh. Raj Bhushan Choudhry on 27th Janu