President’s visit: Shimla DC takes stock of arrangements

Shimla, April 24

Preparations are underway for the five-day visit of President Droupadi Murmu to the state from May 4 to 8, during which she will be staying at The Retreat Rashtrapati Niwas.

The President will arrive here from Delhi on May 4 and will stay at The Retreat, her official residence. The Retreat will remain closed to the public and tourists during the visit of the President.

The President will visit the Shimla catchment area on May 5. She will preside over the Convocation of the Central University on May 6.

On May 7, the President will offer prayers at Sankat Mochan and Tara Devi temples and will visit Mall Road in the evening.

She will also attend a cultural evening at Gaiety Theatre, being organised in her honour, followed by a dinner at the Raj Bhawan. The President will return to Delhi on May 8 morning.

Shimla Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap today presided over a meeting regarding the preparations for the proposed visit of the President. He instructed the officials of the departments concerned to complete all the preparations in a time-bound manner.

He directed the Public Works department to repair the roads leading from the airport to The Retreat and to Sankat Mochan temple and Tara Devi temple.

Apart from this, he also directed to ensure better maintenance of electric wires on these routes. He directed the Shimla Municipal Corporation, SADA and Forest Department to undertake a cleanliness campaign at the Retreat and surrounding areas.

Apart from this, he also directed Shimla Jal Pradhikaran Nigham Ltd to ensure uninterrupted supply of water for The Retreat.

Kashyap directed the Fire Department to conduct fire audit of The Retreat and other places and to ensure proper firefighting arrangements in Theog besides Shimla so that any untoward incident can be dealt with in time.

Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi said that police personnel would be deployed at various places to maintain smooth flow of traffic in the town.

Kashyap, along with other officials, also inspected the Jubbarhatti airport and took stock of all the arrangements and also gave necessary directions to the airport authorities.

He also inspected the airport to Shimla route and directed the officials concerned to immediately rectify all deficiencies.