Srinagar- National flag was hoisted atop the historic Clock tower in city's Lal Chowk on Wednesday, 30 years after veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi did it for the first time.

Social activists Sajid Yousuf Shah and Sahil Bashir Bhat along with dozens of supporters had organized the flag hoisting ceremony at Clock Tower, locally known as Ghanta Ghar, to mark the Republic Day.

The activist used a hydraulic crane elevator to install the national flag on top of the clock tower amidst rendition of the national anthem.

Young players from Kashmir Martial Arts Academy also participated in the function.

The participants danced to patriotic songs as hundreds of Police and paramilitary personnel stood guard around the clock tower.

Senior BJP leader had hoisted the national flag at Lal Chowk in 1992 at the peak of militancy in the valley.

However, after a few hours the flag was no longer seen, inviting criticism from the regional political parties.

Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah while taking a fig at authorities termed the incident as ‘insulting’ the national flag

While calling the exercise “Photo ops”, Omar took to the microblogging site twitter and posted “Tricolour disappears in less than a couple of hours. It didn’t even remain there for the day. Why insult the National Flag Flag of India just for a photo op? Is this what patriotism & nationalism has come to? Photo ops & trolling?,”

The National  Conference (NC), Vice President added, “If you don’t know your Indian Flag Code then here is a bit of help – “As far as possible display from sunrise to sunset” which means that it can be flown 24×7, 365 days a year as long as other provisions of the flag code are followed”.

While taking a jibe at the administration, Omar said “Also, sunset in Srinagar today is 5:55 PM & the moment it’s 4:09 PM IST. Just in case you are wondering”