President to attend first AIIMS Bilaspur convocation, visit Manali and inspect Atal Tunnel
Munish Sood
Mandi
Security arrangements have been intensified across Himachal Pradesh ahead of President Droupadi Murmu’s three-day visit to the state from October 6 to 8, with authorities stepping up route security, traffic management and protocol preparations in Bilaspur and Kullu districts.
The high-profile visit will combine an important institutional engagement with visits to prominent religious and strategic locations, including the first convocation of AIIMS Bilaspur, the historic Hadimba Temple in Manali and the strategically significant Atal Tunnel at Rohtang.
In Bilaspur, Deputy Commissioner Rahul Kumar chaired a detailed multi-departmental review meeting to take stock of preparations and ensure coordinated arrangements for the President’s arrival. Senior administrative, police, health and other officials reviewed security deployment, route management, emergency preparedness and traffic regulations.
As part of the protocol arrangements, adequate security personnel and sector magistrates will be deployed along the designated routes, while traffic movement will be regulated at key points during the President’s movement. Health and emergency response arrangements are also being put in place to meet any eventuality during the visit.
AIIMS Bilaspur convocation
President Murmu will be the chief guest at the historic first convocation of AIIMS Bilaspur on October 6. The event is expected to mark an important milestone for the premier medical institution and its students, besides placing Bilaspur prominently on the national institutional map.
As a traditional Himachali gesture, local master craftsman Veer Singh has prepared a handcrafted Ransingha, the traditional brass horn instrument of the hills, as a special state memento for presentation to the President.
The President is scheduled to arrive in Bilaspur on October 6 and proceed to the AIIMS campus for the convocation. Following the programme, she is scheduled to travel to Manali.
The earlier proposal for a visit to the hilltop Maa Naina Devi Temple has reportedly been dropped from the revised itinerary, with the President now scheduled to proceed directly to the AIIMS programme.
Manali visit and Atal Tunnel inspection
The President will be in Kullu district on October 7, with a visit to the historic Hadimba Temple in Manali included in the itinerary.
The final day of the visit, October 8, will have a strategic dimension, with President Murmu scheduled to visit and inspect the Atal Tunnel at Rohtang. The tunnel, one of India’s major high-altitude infrastructure projects, provides all-weather connectivity between Manali and the Lahaul-Spiti region and has significant strategic as well as economic importance.
The Atal Tunnel visit had earlier been affected by adverse weather conditions during the President’s proposed summer programme and has now been incorporated into the revised schedule.
With the movement of the President’s convoy involving major stretches in Bilaspur and Manali, authorities have advised residents and tourists to remain prepared for temporary traffic restrictions and route diversions at designated locations during the three-day visit.
The President is scheduled to conclude her Himachal Pradesh tour on October 8 and return to New Delhi in the afternoon.
