President Ram Nath Kovind will leave for his native village, Paraunkh, in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur Dehat, on June 25 by a special train from the Safdarjung railway station in Delhi.
“The train will make two stop-overs, at Jhinjhak and Rura of Kanpur Dehat, where the President will interact with his old acquaintances from his school days and from early days of his social service,” said a Rashtrapati Bhavan release.
The stop-overs are close to the President’s birthplace, Paraunkh, where two functions to felicitate him are scheduled on June 27. On June 28, the President will board the train at Kanpur Central railway station to reach Lucknow for his two-day visit there. The next day, he will return to the national capital on a special flight.
This is the first time the President is visiting his birthplace after taking over the post. “Though he desired to visit the place earlier, plans could not materialise because of the pandemic,” the release said.
It is after a gap of 15 years that an incumbent President is making a train journey. The last time was in 2006 when Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam boarded a special train from Delhi to Dehradun to attend a passing out parade of cadets at the Indian Military Academy.
The country’s first President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, often undertook train journeys. Soon after taking office as the President, he visited his birthplace, Ziradei in Bihar's Siwan. He boarded the President's special train from Chhapra to reach Ziradei where he spent three days. He travelled across the country by train, said the release.
