President of India Ramnath Kovind started his winter Southern Sojourn last night with a formal dinner hosted by the Governor ESL Narasimhan at Raj Bhavan.
President Kovind along with the first lady arrived at Hakeempet Air Force Station in a special flight and was accorded a warm welcome by the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and other officials.
Later he attended the Christmas eve dinner at Raj Bhavan. The dinner was also attended by the Chief Ministers of the two Telugu states K Chandrasekhar Rao of Telangana and N Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh along with several other dignitaries and senior officials.
A one on one chat between the two Chief Minister caught the attention of many of those present.
KCR and Naidu had an interaction for fifteen minutes on the lawns of the Raj Bhavan. This was their first meeting after quiet a while and it came after recent controversy over Telangana Government not inviting Naidu to the just concluded World Telugu Conference in Hyderabad.
Film star turned politician Pavan Kalyan was also among the guests at the dinner and his presence created a flutter. Pavan Kalyan who intends to create a splash in the next elections under the banner of his Jana Sena party, also had brief interactions with both the Chief Ministers and met many other dignitaries.
The other prominent guests include former Governor K Roshaiah, many film stars and socialites, the State Director General of Police M Mahinder Reddy, Ministers and MPs.
President Kovind who is on his first Southern Sojourn in Hyderabad after his election earlier this year, will be staying at the Rashtrapati Nilayam at Bolarum till December 31.
He is also hosting at home on Wednesday which will be attended by the governor Narasimhan, Chief Minister KCR and other officials. As part of the sojourn he will also visit Andhra Pradesh for three days and back in Hyderabad he will spend two more days at the Prashanti Nilayam.
It is part of a old tradition that the President undertake a Southern Sojourn to Hyderabad to escape the harsh winter of New Delhi.
Rashtrapati Nilayam, a estate spread over 90 acres including many verdant gardens and green spaces, has served many presidents as their second home after Delhi’s majestic Rashtarpati Bhavan. Various departments of the State Government were busy in cleaning and sprucing up the Rashtarpati Nilayam building as well as its surrounding including Herbal Garden, Fruit Garden and other gardens. As the vast estate remains unused in the remaining months of the year it becomes infested with reptiles and other animals like monkeys, authorities had to deploy the staff from the forest department to catch and remove them this year too.
Meanwhile Andhra Pradesh Government has started preparations for President Kovind’s visit to Guntur on December 27 where he will attend the centenary celebrations of Indian Economic Organisation at the Acharya Nagarjuna University.
He will also lay the foundation stone for the Fiber Grid in Andhra Pradesh and attend lunch to be hosted by the Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.
Guntur Urban SP Vijay Rao and other officials visited the venues of President’s programs including the newly built helipad at the James School grounds. About 1000 police personnel were being deployed for Kovind’s maiden visit to Guntur.