Ghaziabad, Jan 26 (PTI) An 18-year-old differently-abled youth was the chief guest at the Republic Day function organised at the collectorate here on Sunday, an official said.

Son of a home guard personnel, Harsh Kumar hoisted the national flag and took the guard of honour, District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey said.

"Harsh Kumar is 100 per cent disabled and we wanted to give him the opportunity to hoist the national flag. Besides, he also took the guard of honour," Pandey said.

Kumar later distributed prizes to the staff of the collectorate for their dedication towards work, Pandey said, adding that five other differently-abled youth were honoured at the function.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)