President Ram Nath Kovind arrived in Shimla for a four-day visit to Himachal Pradesh. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and other dignitaries welcomed him at the Annadale Helipad.
Kovind will address a special session of the state assembly on September 16, and on September 17, he will attend the valedictory ceremony of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service at the National Academy of Audit and Accounts, Shimla, as the chief guest, an official said.
Kovind will be staying at the Cecil hotel in Chaura Maidan, instead of The Retreat, the President’s residence at Chharabra on the outskirts of Shimla, after four staff members of The Retreat tested positive for COVID-19.
All those who come in close contact with the President will have to carry a COVID-19 RT-PCR negative report even if they have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, he said. The President will address the special session of the state assembly on Friday at 11 am to mark the golden jubilee of Himachal Pradesh’s statehood. Kovind will be the third President to address the Himachal Pradesh assembly after APJ Abdul Kalam in 2003 and Pranab Mukherjee in 2013, Speaker Vipin Singh Parmar said. Apart from all sitting MLAs, former legislators, including ex-chief ministers Shanta Kumar and Prem Kumar Dhumal, have been invited to attend the special session, he added. As many as 93 former MLAs, including Kumar and Dhumal, have given their consent to attend the session, the speaker said. Five MPs from the state and seven former parliamentarians will also attend, he added.
On Friday evening, the President will attend a cultural programme and a banquet hosted by the governor, the state official added. On September 19, he will leave for Delhi around 11.15 am.
