Odisha declares half-day holiday for schools, colleges in view of President Droupadi Murmu's visit

BHUBANESWAR : President Droupadi Murmu is scheduled to arrive here on Thursday for a two-day trip to Odisha during which she will go to the Jagannath temple in Puri, visit her old school, besides attending other programmes. The state government on Wednesday declared a half-day holiday for all offices, schools and colleges in the state capital region on this occasion. Educational institutes and government offices located in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation area will be closed after 1 pm, according to a notification issued by the revenue and disaster management department.

This will be the first visit of Murmu, hailing from Odisha’s Rairangpur area in the tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district, to the state after becoming the President on July 25. As per the President’s itinerary, Murmu will fly to Puri by an IAF chopper after she arrives at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here. She is scheduled to spend about one hour inside the 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple in the pilgrim town. She will also visit the Raj Bhavan there.

Also Read | Haryana declares holiday for schools on Nov 9, 12 in these districts due to panchayat election

“The devotees will be prohibited from entering the temple from 10.30 AM till the President returns on security reasons,” Shree Jagannath Temple Administration administer (development) Ajay Jena said. Elaborate arrangements have been made for the President’s security. After returning to Bhubaneswar in the afternoon, Murmu will attend a civic reception at Raj Bhavan.

On November 11, she is scheduled to visit Tapoban High School at Khandagiri and her alma mater, the Government Girls’ High School, in Bhubaneswar. The president had studied in that institute from class 8 to class 12 in the early 1970s. The school and its hostel were repaired and decorated ahead of Murmu’s arrival. She is also scheduled to inaugurate an Odia textbook for engineering and launch a portal before flying back to New Delhi on Friday.