Puri set to host President Murmu on Thursday

PURI: The Puri administration is all set to host President Droupadi Murmu who will arrive in the pilgrim town on Thursday. This is Murmu’s first visit to Puri after she became the President of the country. Sources said Murmu’s chopper will land at the helipad here at 11.40 am from where she will be escorted to Sri Jagannath Temple.

The President will be received at the shrine by Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb, chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration Vir Vikram Yadav, the collector, SP and other district officials. 
She will then be escorted to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple for darshan of the Trinity.

The President will also go around other temples within the Srimandir complex. While coming out of the shrine, Murmu is scheduled to garland the statue of Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das near Singhadwar. 
Murmu will then leave for Raj Bhawan where she will be served ‘Mahaprasad’. She will leave Puri by helicopter in the afternoon. Around 24 platoons of police force and senior officers have been deployed in the town for the President’s visit. 

This apart, barricades have been put up at strategic locations on the routes from helipad to the Srimandir and Raj Bhawan. Puri collector Samarth Verma, IGP, north-central range Narasingh Bhol and SP K Vishal Singh are looking after the security arrangements. Devotees will be barred from entering the temple from 10.30 am till the President leaves the complex.