MANISH GUPTA
Ranchi, Nov 14: Governor Ramesh Bais will be the chief guest at Jharkhand statehood foundation day programme on Tuesday following a last minute change in the schedules of President Droupadi Murmu, who will only visit Ulihatu village in Khunti district.
“Being the head of the state, Governor Ramesh Bais will be the chief guest. Earlier, the President was scheduled to attend the statehood foundation day programme. But the schedule of the President was changed,” said a senior bureaucrat of the state.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who supervised the preparations for the programme at Morabadi ground, is likely to receive President Murmu at the Ranchi airport. Murmu will board IAF BBJ flight at Palam Airport in Delhi and reach Ranchi airport at 8:20am.
From Ranchi, she will depart in an IAF MI 17 helicopter for Birsa Munda’s birth place Ulihatu village in neighbouring Khunti district at 8:30am and land at a helipad in Ulihatu village at 8:50am. She will pay floral tributes to Bhagwan Birsa Munda at his birth place.
President Murmu’s sudden cancellation of her participation in the foundation program has created speculations that the President wants to stay away from Soren, on whom investigation is going on by the Enforcement Directorate. Murmu’s planned two-day visit to Jharkhand has been cut down to a four-hour visit. She will leave Ranchi at 10:15am.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Soren on Monday reviewed the ongoing preparations for the Jharkhand Foundation Day celebrations at the Morabadi ground. Directions were given to the officials and information was shared on the seating arrangement of the guests.
It is learnt that Governor Ramesh Bais, Chief Minister Soren, JMM Chief Sibu Soren, his wife Kalpana Soren, state Ministers Alamgir Alam and Satyanand Bhokta, Congress Jharkhand incharge Avinas Pande, Ranchi MLA CP Singh and Ranchi MP Sanjay Seth will be on the dais.
Seating arrangements for 15,000 people have been made at the programme, scheduled to start at 12:30pm. About 350 buses have been arranged to bring people to Morabadi ground. About 5,000 police personnel will be deployed for the security of the programme.
Foundation for 147 projects worth Rs 5,433 crore will be laid and 220 projects Rs 1876 crore will be inaugurated and 1000 appointment letters will be distributed on the occasion.
