Twenty-five platoons of State armed police and commandos would be deployed to provide security to President Pranab Mukherjee during his visit here on Friday and Saturday.
The President is expected to arrive on Friday at 5.20 pm at the Talabania Helipad. He would be escorted to the Raj Bhavan located along the sea beach amid tight security. He would spend the night at the Raj Bhavan.
On Saturday morning, Mukherjee would visit the Shree Jagannath Temple to offer prayers to the deities lord Jagannath and his siblings Balabhadra and Subhadra besides Goddess Mahalakshmi. His family priest would accompany him during his temple visit. This would be his second visit to Puri after April 25 this year.
The Raj Bhavan here has been given a facelift with colours and bedrooms being furnished afresh. The route from the helipad to the Raj Bhavan has been barricaded and the Grand Road has been cleaned with all the encroachers and vendors being evicted. The scaffolding of the entrance gate of the Jagannath Temple has been removed and painted with colours.
For the President’s tiffin, dinner and breakfast here, a prominent private star hotelier has been entrusted to provide the needful. Mukherjee would also visit sand artworks on the beach close to the Raj Bhavan.
Security drills are repeatedly practised by the police and the commandos. Top police officers are seen briefing the security personnel. The District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police are looking after the arrangements.
Apart from 25 platoons of State armed police, the mandatory Z Plus security personnel would also be providing security cover to the President. The Coastguard vessels would patrol the beach.
Shree Jagannath Temple Chief Administrator Arabinda Padhee held parleys with the Chhatisha Nijog, the confederation of temple servitors’ representatives’ body, for smooth conduct of the President’s visit to the temple. The rituals of the deities would be rescheduled and the devotees would not be allowed to enter the shrine hours before the President’s visit.
The traffic along the Grand Road (Bada Danda) would be regulated keeping in view the movement of the President’s entourage. Then, Mukherjee would proceed to Bhubaneswar to address the second convocation ceremonies of the IIT, Bhubaneswar and the convocation of the Bharatiya Bidya Bhawan, Odisha in the afternoon on the day.
While the convocation of IIT, Bhubaneswar would be held in the campus of the Institute of Minerals and Materials (IMMT), the event of the Bharatiay Bidya Bhawan is scheduled at the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar. The President would return to New Delhi at around 6 pm.
As any as 40 platoons of police force and 501 officers would be deployed in Bhubaneswar for security purpose during the President’s visit.