Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Saturday held a high-level preparatory meeting at Lok Seva Bhawan ahead of the upcoming visits of President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the state in October.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg chaired the state-level review meeting, where detailed arrangements for both VVIP visits were discussed.
As per reports, President Murmu is scheduled to be on a two-day visit to Odisha on October 28 and 29, during which she will attend a series of programmes in Mayurbhanj district. Prime Minister Modi, on the other hand, will arrive in Khordha on October 25 to inaugurate the Reserve Bank of India’s Greenfield Data Centre and Training Institute near Khordha.
Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Information and Public Relations, Hemant Sharma briefed the meeting on the detailed itineraries of both dignitaries.
According to the schedule presented, Prime Minister Modi will land at Bhubaneswar airport on the afternoon of October 25 in a special IAF aircraft and proceed by helicopter to the Khordha helipad. From there, he will travel by road to the RBI campus to inaugurate the data centre and training centre. He has a programme of about an hour at the venue before returning to Bhubaneswar airport by road for his onward journey in the evening.
In view of the Prime Minister’s visit, detailed discussions were held on preparations including security arrangements, carcade plan, emergency medical services, necessary road repairs, sanitation, uninterrupted power supply and drinking water, stage preparation, media facilitation, and other ancillary arrangements.
Similarly, preparations for the various programmes to be attended by President Droupadi Murmu on October 28 and 29 were discussed.
The President will arrive on October 28 morning and travel by road from Dandabose airport to visit and offer prayers at the Maa Kichakeshwari Temple at Bahalda in Mayurbhanj district. She will then visit the Laxmi Mandap at Mahuladiha in Rairangpur. In the afternoon, she will visit the Rairangpur Sub-Divisional Hospital and interact with officials, staff and beneficiaries of the mega health camp held there from October 24 to 28.
Later in the day, the President will lay the foundation stone, via virtual mode, for the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) campus at a public meeting on Kacheri Road in Rairangpur. She will also lay the foundation stone for the redevelopment and upgradation of Maa Kichakeshwari Temple, Khiching, under the PRASAD scheme of the Union Tourism Ministry.
She will also inaugurate the newly constructed Rairangpur and Badam Pahad Amrit Bharat railway stations, and lay foundation stones for a goshala and the building of the Adivasi Social Education and Cultural Sangha at Rairangpur. On October 29 morning, the President will visit the Sports Complex at Rairangpur, the Multi-Skill Development Centre, and the Gorumahisani Ispat College. She will later attend a health-related discussion, meeting and awareness programme at the Rairangpur Town Hall before departing in the afternoon.
The meeting was attended by Development Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary Deo Ranjan Kumar Singh, secretaries of concerned departments, the Director General of Police, RBI officials and heads of various agencies. The Khordha Collector was present in person, while the Central Range RDC, Mayurbhanj Collector and SP joined virtually.
In view of the President’s visit, the Chief Secretary held detailed discussions with the concerned departmental secretaries, the Central Range RDC, the Collectors and SPs of both districts, and senior state-level officials on all ancillary preparations.
The Chief Secretary directed all secretaries and officials to personally supervise and ensure flawless execution of every event in both visit schedules. It was also decided that the Home Department will operate a control room for the duration of the visits.
