PRESIDENT GOES TO KANPUR ON SPECIAL TRAIN

After age gap of 15 years President Ram Nath Kovind, accompanied by First Lady Savita Devi Kovind, boarded a special train from the Safdarjung railway station on Friday to travel to his native place Kanpur.

President Kovind boards a special Presidential train from Safdarjung railway station to Kanpur. The train will make two stop-overs, at Jhinjhak and Rura of Kanpur Dehat, and will reach Kanpur Central in the evening, the official handle of the Rashtrapati Bhavan tweeted.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Chairman of the Railway Board Suneet Sharma were present at the station to see him off. This is the first time that President Kovind will visit his birthplace after becoming the president. Though he had desired to visit the place earlier, it could not materialise because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"As he boards the train, the president will be travelling down the memory lane that will cover a span of seven decades of his life, right from his childhood to holding the top constitutional position in the country," a statement issued on Wednesday by the Rashtrapati Bhavan had said.