The cheetah was featured prominently on the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) tableau in the Republic Day Parade on Thursday, highlighting its theme of biodiversity conservation.
The CPWD tableau, made entirely of natural flowers, featured animals, birds and plants to showcase the rich biodiversity in the country. The tableau also was a nod to Project Cheetah, through which cheetahs were brought from Namibia and released in Kuno National Park in September 2022 – which the government had termed the “world’s first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project”.
Last year, CPWD had featured Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army in its tableau, which won the special prize for the 15th year in a row, as per CPWD. As a part of the Central Vista redevelopment, which CPWD is carrying out, a statue of Bose was installed at India Gate last year.