Yesterday, about 70 members of the Welfare Party of India (WPI) and their supporters gathered at the office premises and celebrated the 70th Independence Day, with a difference.

There was no chief guest or special invitee. Instead, Aramal Lakshmi, a sanitary worker with the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC), was chosen to host the tricolour at the WPI office premises. For the sanitary worker, it was a celebration of freedom and equality in the true sense.

Speaking to Covai Post, Aramal Lakshmi said, “This is the first time that I’m celebrating Independence Day. Hoisting our national flag was a very special occasion for me. I’m happy to receive this love from people, and it feels good to be treated as an equal. Most importantly, I feel blessed, having been chosen to hoist the national flag, as this is the job of only the elite.”

Lakshmi is still trying to get over the attention that she received at yesterday’s celebrations. A resident of Variety Hall, Aramal Lakshmi has been serving at the CCMC for the last 25 years. She is married to Mohan Raj from Coimbatore.

Ever since the Coimbatore chapter of the WPI set up their office in the city, they have been celebrating the occasions of national importance. This is the fifth Independence Day celebrations of the WPI in Coimbatore.