President on Southern sojourn from December 18

Hyderabad: President Pranab Mukherjee would visit Hyderabad from December 18 to December 31 for a customary Southern sojourn.

Telangana Chief Secretary Rajeev Sharma held a meeting with officials of different departments here on the arrangements for the President’s visit, a state government release said today.

During the visit, the President would attend the convocation ceremony of the Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (MCEME) on December 19. He would attend a meeting of Indian Economic Association at Professor Jayashankar University here on December 27.

During his stay here, the President would also participate in the ‘Aayutha Chandi Yagam’ to be performed by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao at his farm house in neighbouring Medak district, according to the release.

The Chief Secretary discussed sprucing up the Rashtrapathi Nilayam here, the President’s retreat in the South, for Mukherjee’s visit, besides other arrangements, it added.

Located at Bolarum, the Rashtrapathi Nilayam building was taken over from the Nizam of Hyderabad after India attained independence and handed over to the President’s Secretariat.

Constructed during 1860, the building has a total land area of 90 acres. A single-storied building, it contains in its premises 11 rooms.

The President visits the Rashtrapathi Nilayam and stays there at least once a year and conducts official business from the Nilayam.