Ranchi: Pahari Mandir will not hoist the Tricolour on the 293-feet-high flag post for the second consecutive year on January 26 but will make do with a smaller flag because it is not confident of undertaking the task without glitches, which are bound to invite the wrath of Jharkhand High Court.

On August 17, 2016, Jharkhand High Court had said disrespect to the Tricolour would not be accepted under any circumstances. It directed the Ranchi deputy commissioner to consider unfurling the flag at Pahari Mandir only on special occasions.

The directive came after a series of misadventures since the time Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar first hoisted the Tricolour on January 23, 2016 on the 293-feet post. The Tricolour, weighing 60kg and 66ftx99ft in size, could not withstand the wind pressure and suffered tears causing embarrassment for both Ranchi Pahari Mandir Vikas Samiti and the district administration.

A priest of the temple said this year too the tallest flag won't be hoisted.

"The motor has conked out and the steel wire is also not in good condition. I don't criticize that project, which helped Ranchi grab national headlines. We spent over Rs 2 lakh to procure at least four flags of that size and all them have been damaged. We can't hoist a repaired flag," the priest, who did not want to be named, said.

He said the hillock had been unnecessarily damaged for the project in which the temple committee invested the entire fund collected during the last three decades.

"There is no technical problem in hoisting the Tricolour on the high pole as such, but the members of the temple committee are neither proactive not interested. They have not approached me with the proposal so far. Let them come to me first. We can take a call after that," Ranchi DC Manoj Kumar, who is the officiating chairman of the temple committee, said.

Sources in the DC office, however, said the district administration was not sure whether hoisting the flag would be hassle-free this time.

Kailash Yadav, who had filed a PIL before Jharkhand High Court in 2016, alleging disrespect to the national flag, said the administration should stay away from any adventure.

"My PIL was guided by pure logic. We can't ignore the flag code in the name of making records," he said.

Yadav had complained that the Tricolour had got stuck at half-mast on April 17, 2016 due to a malfunctioning motor. The rope the flag was tied to also slipped out of the rotation wheel at the top of the pole.

Besides, the flag suffered tears at least seven times since January 24, 2016.