Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has begun preparations for the five-day visit of President Droupadi Murmu to the state from December 3.
Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja held a high-level meeting with DGP Y B Khurania, Development Commissioner Anu Garg, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Satyabrat Sahu to review the preparations on Friday. A control room operated by the Home Department will coordinate all activities during the President’s visit, an official release said.
According to the itinerary, Murmu will arrive in Bhubaneswar on December 3 by a special Indian Air Force flight and unveil the statue of Pandit Raghunath Murmu at Niladri Vihar here in the evening.
The following day, she will visit the pilgrim town of Puri and have darshan of the sibling deities at Shree Jagannath Temple. Thereafter, she will attend the 75th-anniversary celebration of Gopabandhu Ayurveda College, and later witness the Indian Navy’s display of its formidable maritime capabilities and operational strength at Puri’s Blue Flag beach on the occasion of Navy Day.
On December 5, the President will attend the 40th convocation of OUAT and inaugurate the new judicial court complex in the state capital later in the day.
On December 6, she will pay homage to the statue of Dr B R Ambedkar at AG Chhak in Bhubaneswar on his death anniversary and then proceed to Mayurbhanj, where she is scheduled to stay at her residence in Rairangpur and attend several programmes, via Kalaikunda Airport in West Bengal. After reaching there, Murmu is scheduled to interact with students and teachers at Uparbeda Government Higher Secondary School. She will then proceed to her residence at Rairangpur for lunch and later engage with villagers, and flag off a vehicle donated by the SLS Trust Board for the sub-divisional hospital there.
The President will also visit Rairangpur Women’s College and interact with students and faculty and later offer prayers at Puneswar Mahadev Temple. She will then make a night halt at her Rairangpur residence.
The following day, she will fly from Dandbosh airstrip to Bangiriposh to lay foundation stone for 3 railway projects – Badampahar-Kendujhargarh, Bangriposi-Gorumahisani and Buramara-Chakulia, and several development initiatives, including Rairangpur Tribal Research Centre and upgradation of Sub-Divisional Hospital.
After completing her engagements, she will return to New Delhi via Kalaikunda Airport.