Stage Set For President Droupadi Murmu’s 3-Day Odisha Visit From Tomorrow

Bhubaneswar: Elaborate arrangements have been made for President Droupadi Murmu’s scheduled visit to her home district Mayurbhanj in Odisha from Thursday. The President is visiting Mayurbhanj for the first time after assuming the high office.

During her three-day stay in the state, Murmu is slated to attend a number of programmes, including the convocation of Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University at Baripada and a visit to Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR).

While tight security arrangements have been made for Murmu’s visit, around 50 platoons of police force are being deployed at different locations. Steps were also taken to conduct a rehearsal of her motorcade which is likely to include at least 30 vehicles. A  three-layer security network will be in place, said a senior official.

As per schedule, after arriving at Kalaikunda Airport in West Bengal by a special plane of the Indian Air Force, the President will board a helicopter to Odisha and land at Badampahar helipad in Mayurbhanj district at around 10.15 a.m. on Thursday.

Murmu will first visit her in-laws’ village Pahadpur, where she will lay a wreath at the statue of her husband late Shyam Charan Murmu and lay the foundation stones of a community centre at SLS Trust School to be built by NABARD and a skill development centre. She is likely to spend some time with the school students and villagers at the village.

The president will also visit Brahma Kumaris Centre, Hatbadra, Satapautia, where she will launch the Addiction-Free Odisha campaign. She is scheduled to attend some other programmes, including inauguration of a 100-ft tall flag mast hoisting the national flag near Badabandha, officials said.

On the next day of her visit on May 5, Murmu will go to her Rairangpur residence and spend around 20 minutes in the holiday home. From there, the President will proceed to Pandit Raghunath Murmu’s village Dandbosh and later to the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) and spend the night at Baripada.

For the visit of Murmu, the STR will remain closed to visitors for two days on May 4 and 5. All the tourist spots inside the sanctuary, including Barehipani waterfall and Chahala forest resort have been made ready for the President’s visit.

On May 6, she will visit Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanjadeo (MSCB) University at Baripada at around 10 am to deliver the convocation address. The President is schedled leave the MSCB campus at 12.15 pm and fly back to Kalaikunda airport of West Bengal, from where she will return to New Delhi.