Southern sojourn ends Prez returns to Delhi

Hyderabad: After his 14-day southern sojourn, President Pranab Mukherjee left for Delhi from here on Thursday. Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana E S L Narasimhan, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, his Cabinet colleagues and several other officials accorded farewell to the President at the Hakimpet Air Force station, according to press release issued by the Chief Minister’s Office.

Chandrashekar Rao presented Mukherjee an album containing photographs of events attended by the President during the sojourn, the release said. During the sojourn that began on December 18, the President participated in the convocation of Military College of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (MCEME) and a meeting of the Indian Economic Association here. He inaugurated a ‘Veda Pathasala’ of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh and offered prayers at the Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirupati.

The President also visited Karnataka during the winter sojourn. It is customary for the President to visit the Rashtrapati Nilayam here at least once a year on a southern sojourn. The Rashtrapati Nilayam is one of the Presidential Retreats in the country. Located at Bolarum, Secunderabad here. The Nilayam was built during the Nizam’s era and it was handed over to the government of India after Independence. The single-storey building is located in a 90-acre estate.

The President on Wednesday hosted reception for the governor, the chief minister, top officials and other dignitaries.Narasimhan hosted a dinner in honour of the President on December 29. Mukherjee could not attend the Ayutha Chandi Maha Yagam organised by the Telangana Chief Minister at his farmhouse near Hyderabad on December 27 due to a fire accident at the venue.