For the first time, President Ram Nath Kovind would stay in the Special Circuit House here on Saturday night as the Governor’s House (Raj Bhavan) has been declared unsafe by the Works Department.
The Governor’s House in Puri was constructed in 1913. Spread over 10 acres of land along the beach has quarters and all facilities for security and Ministerial staffs. During British rule, the then Governors used to stay here and after independence Presidents used this facility during their visits.
President Kovind is scheduled to visit Puri on Saturday evening and would stay in Puri. District Collector Arabind Agarwal and SP Sarthak Sarangi have already discussed about security arrangements. The meeting which continued till late in the night of Monday decided to house the President in Special Circuit House in view of the unsafte Raj Bhavan.
The Circuit House complex would be completely reserved from March 15 for the president, his staffs and security personnel. The road from Acharya Harihar square to Netaji square would remain closed for public.
The President would visit the Shree Jagannath Temple at 7.30 pm to offer prayers to lord Jagannath and His siblings, lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.
Meanwhile, the SJTA Chief Administrator has also held discussions with servitors to streamline the rituals to facilitate Darshan of deities by the President.
later, the president would grace the centenary celebrations of Sadashiva Kendriya Sanskruta Sansthan as chief guest. Governor SC Jamir, Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Jual Oram and Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingh Dev would participate in the celebration.