No camel contingent at Republic Day parade for first time in 66 years

For the first time in the history of the Republic Day celebrations, the iconic BSF camel contingent will not be ambling down the Rajpath here on the coming January 26.Officials said the 90-member Border Security Force camel-mounted troops and band contingent has not been practising during the dress rehearsals of the event being held here, in the absence of official directions."While the contingent is in Delhi since the last few months, it has not been included in the rehearsals as there are no official orders issued in this regard," they said.The majestic and elegantly dressed four-legged ship of the desert belonging to the border guarding force first became a part of the national festival celebration in 1976 after it replaced a similar squad of the army which had been participating in the Republic Day parade since the first such event in 1950."The BSF camel contingent has since been the intrinsic part of the parade at Rajpath on every January 26. There are two teams which take part in the event, the 54-member mounted contingent and the 36-member band," a senior official involved with the camel squad said.