President Draupady Murmu will be arriving on
Saturday afternoon on a three-day visit to Tamil Nadu and Puducherry
during which she will be attending the 165th Convocation of the Madras
University tomorrow after a visit to the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR).
Ms Murmu will arrive from Mysore by a special aircraft to Coimbatore
from where she will board a chopper and reach MTR in The Nilgiris
district by around 1530 hrs.
She is also expected to inter-act with the local people during her hour
long visit after which she will leave for Coimbatore airport by a chopper
and land in Chennai in the evening by a special aircraft.
Though the weekend will attract numerous visitors to the MTR and the
Theppakadu Elephant camp, they were banned in view of the President’s
visit for two days, dampening their hopes.
Upon reaching Chennai and after an overnight stay at Raj Bhavan,
Ms Murmu will attend the 165th Convocation of the University of
Madras on Sunday and will stay overnight at Raj Bhavan.
She will be leaving for Puducherry on Monday morning for an official
function after which she will be leaving for New Delhi from the Chennai
airport upon returning to the city.
During her visit to MTR, the President will visit the Theppakadu Elephant
Camp and meet the adivasi couple, Bomman and Bellie, who were featured
in the Oscar award-winning documentary “The Elephant Whisperers.”
More than 1,000 police personnel were deployed as part of security
arrangements following her visit, officials said.
Pathways were cleared, roads were relaid to ensure that the President’s
visit passed off without any hitch.
As part of protocol, a helicopter landing rehearsal was carried out at
the MTR inside the tiger reserve and the top district officials reviewed
the security arrangements made in connection with her visit.
Security arrangements have also been tightened in Chennai in view of
the President’s visit and police have intensified patrolling and had been
conducting regular checks at lodges and hotels.
