Prez Kovind regrets inconvenience to residents due to his Shimla visit
SHIMLA : President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday regretted inconvenience caused to residents of Shimla due to the movement of his convoy and security arrangements in the last few days.
“Like others, the president is also a common man even as he is the first citizen of the country. Whenever I visit any place I always try that people should not face any difficulty due to my visit. I regret inconvenience to people of Shimla,” Kovind said this during the civic reception Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur hosted for him at Hotel Peterhoff in the state capital on Tuesday.
In the wake of the President’s visit, the Shimla district administration had ordered to close all private and government schools at 1:30pm. The police had sealed certain roads for traffic during the movement of the President’s convoy. He remembered his association with the state. “I visited Himachal for the first time in 1974. I visited Kullu and Manali then,” he said.
“It was 20 days after my Himachal visit that I was informed about being nominated for the President’s post. It was my last visit to any state as a governor,” he said. He presented a ‘brick’ to Sanjeev Rana of Bilaspur for the construction of a martyrs’ memorial under the ‘Ek Eent Shaheehdon ke Naam’ programme.
After the reception, Kovind went to the Mall Road along with his family members and governor Acharya Devvrat. Kovind also visited a book store there and purchased three books. Later, he sat at the government-run Hotel Ashiana on the historic Ridge and had coffee with his family members. They also took a stroll on the Ridge.