President to board special train, visit his village
KANPUR : President Ram Nath Kovind would board a special presidential train from the national capital on Friday to visit his village Paraunkh in Kanpur Dehat district, where he would meet his family, relatives and childhood friends.
This is the first time that Kovind will visit his birthplace after becoming the President, a statement issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan said, according to the new agency PTI.
Additional director general of police (Kanpur zone) Bhanu Bhaskar said all arrangements have been completed for the visit.
Kovind and his family, comprising his wife, son, daughter, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren would arrive in the state-of-the-art Presidential train. He would be the first President to have boarded the train in over 15 years. The first was Dr Rajendra Prasad and the last one was Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
The President would reach the Jhinjhak railway station in Kanpur Dehat, covering a distance of 461 km from Safdarjug railway station in Delhi, around 6pm on Friday. A total of 132 people have been cleared to greet him at the Jhinjhak railway station, and another 32 at the Roora railway station, both in Kanpur Dehat.
The first family would spend Friday night in the presidential suite of the circuit house in Kanpur from where he would visit Paraunkh, which has been decked up to welcome him, on Saturday.
During his stay, the President would address a small public function which would be allowed while adhering to the social distancing protocols. He would be welcomed by the nine pradhans of nearby villages at
the rally ground around which five helipads have been prepared in his village. The village has been spruced up for the President’s visit: the lanes have brick roads and ditches and drains have been cleaned.
The villagers said they would submit a memorandum to the President for early completion of the community health centre that was approved around a year back in the village.
Presidential train a transformed version of Maharajas’ Express
The train on which President Ram Nath Kovind would embark on his journey to his native village Paraunkh in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur Dehat district would be special in the real sense, said Northern Railway (NR) and Government Railway Police (GRP) officials who are busy in facilitating the President’s visit by train.
“It special in the real sense,” a
senior NR official said. The Presidential train would leave the Safdarjung railway station in New Delhi on Friday (June 25).
On June 27, the President would address two functions at his native village Paraunkh in Kanpur Dehat. Afterwards, he would again board the Presidential train that would leave Kanpur at around 10.30am on June 28 and reach Lucknow by 11.50am.
It would be after a gap of 15 years that an incumbent President will travel by train.
The President’s train, a senior official said, was a transformed version of the royal Maharajas’ Express that is world’s leading luxury tour train in India.
Officials said that the presidential saloon—a vintage twocoach carriage meant for the Indian President — was declared unserviceable in 2016 and was later de-commissioned. The saloon was manufactured in 1956. “Since there was no dedicated saloon, the grand Maharajas’ Express has been transformed into the President’s train,” the official said.
Officials said the train would comprise 14 bogies. It will include one Presidential Suite— the coach is bulletproof with a twin room and would have a capacity of four passengers. It will also have a living area, sofa, writing table, luggage-hold underneath the bed, live television and Wi-fi connectivity. Other than the Presidential Suite, there would be other junior suites named Pearl, Agate, Emerald, Turqoise, Ruby, Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Hessonite, Amethyst, Coral, Aquamarine and Sapphire. Officials said that other suites would be occupied by the security personnel and officials who would accompany the President onboard.
On Thursday, the Government Railway Police (GRP) in collaboration with the local police and other railway officials inspected the entire route from Lucknow to Kanpur and identified the sensitive points.
“We inspected the entire route and identified the sensitive areas, including slums and congested areas where security arrangements have been made,” said Saumitra Yadav, superintendent of police (SP), Railways.
He said around 100 such points were identified along the route. He said the Shatabdi Express was transformed into a rehearsal train in order to assess the security arrangements. The drill was successful, he added.
Deepak Kumar, chief public relations officer (CPRO) of Northern Railway, said, “The trials were all done. We have prepared a special train for President’s visit. The train is ready to depart as per the scheduled time. Other than the President’s coach, the train would have other coaches to accommodate security personnel and other officials who would be onboard.”