President Pranab to visit Jagannath temple, address IIT-Bhu students

Bhubaneswar: President Pranab Mukherjee will arrive here on Friday on a two-day visit to Odisha, after a gap of about four months.

The President is scheduled to visit Jagannath temple in Puri and the convocation ceremonies of IIT-Bhubaneswar and Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan (BVB) on September seven here. While the convocation of IIT-Bhubaneswar will be held on the campus of Institute of Minerals & Materials Technology (IMMT) here, the BVB has chosen the campus of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB) for its convocation. "Police would take control over both the venues nearly 24 hours before the convocations start," Commissioner of Police R K Sharma said. According to official sources, Mukherjee is scheduled to reach Biju Patnaik Airport here at around 4.35 pm tomorrow. He is scheduled to stay at Raj Bhavan in Puri and leave for Bhubaneswar the day after offering prayers at Jagannath temple early in the morning. Meanwhile, the state government has asked Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) to keep all arrangements in place in order to ensure a hassle free visit of the President. "This time we will ensure that only the required officers and priests remain near the President. All arrangements have been made to welcome him," said temple`s chief administrator Arvind Padhee. "The SJTA will present a Pattachitra of Kanchi Abhiyan to the President as memento. A holy flag will also be offered to the deities in the name of the President," Padhee said. As the President`s last visit witnessed a controversy over his family priests in the temple, the SJTA has sought the advice of the President whether he required a servitor to escort him in the temple. About 40 platoons (about 1200 personnel) of police force and 501 officers are likely to be assigned for security of the President in Bhubaneswar. Similarly 15 platoons of force and 50 officers would be deployed at Puri. PTI