New Delhi: India’s armed forces are all geared up to thank the doctors, medical staff and other frontline health works batting the COVID-19 pandemic in a rather unique way.

In an unprecedented press meet held on Friday evening, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said that Indian armed forces will conduct fly-pasts, light up ships at sea and shower petals on hospitals as sign of gratitude to the COVID warriors, this Sunday.

The CDS was accompanied by the chiefs of all three service.

“We (wish to) convey our gratitude to each and every corona warrior and all the citizens of our nation. On May 3 there will be some special activities as a gesture of special gratitude by all three forces. The nation stood together, it showed resilience to overcome this crisis. In our country, everybody understands that when it comes to the nation we have to stand together,” General Bipin Rawat said.

He said that the “gesture of special gratitude” will consist of the Air Force conducting fly-pasts “from Kashmir to Kanyakumari (and) from Assam in the northeast to Kutch in Gujarat.

The Navy will display its gratitude by lighting up ships stationed along India’s shoreline.

A third “gesture of special gratitude” will be helicopters showering petals on hospitals and army bands playing outside medical buildings in most districts.

the press meet was special because it was the first time that General Rawat has addressed the press as Chief of Defence Staff – a post created by the government to integrate the three wings of the armed forces.