STATE TIMES NEWS NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind reached Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow by the special Express Train on a two-day visit. This is the last leg of the President’s visit to his home state. He had left Delhi on June 25 to go to Kanpur where he met some old acquaintances and friends. Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Dy CM of UP Dr Dinesh Sharma, Ministers of UP Govt., Mayor of Lucknow, MPs, MLAs and MLCs, General Manager Northern Railway, Ashutosh Gangal, General Manager Northern Eastern Railway, Vinay Kumar Tripathi, Director General RDSO, Virendra Kumar, Divisional Railway Manager, Lucknow Division, Tarun Prakash and other senior officials of state administration and Railways received the President at Charbagh station in Lucknow. From the railway station, the President directly went to the Raj Bhawan where he will spend the next two days. The President will lay the foundation stone of Ambedkar Memorial Cultural Centre and meet the senior judges of the Allahabad high court during his stay in Lucknow. He will fly to New Delhi on Tuesday. Kovind is the first serving President to reach Lucknow while traveling by train. A special train was constituted at Delhi’s Safdarjung Railway station for his travel to Uttar Pradesh as the presidential saloon, which was being used since Independence, had been de-commissioned at the order of the President. President Kovind said he had a pleasant and memorable experience travelling by train. He also thanked the Railway staff and officers for their diligent service to the nation throughout the nationwide lockdown and beyond. Union railways minister Piyush Goyal thanked President Kovind for undertaking a train journey to his home state. Goyal said this is a “morale booster” for each one working hard on the Indian Railways “to keep the wheels of the nation rolling”. “His Excellency’s journey will also instil a sense of comfort and security in the rail users encouraging them to avail train services for their travel needs post-covid pandemic. This will also increase tourism potential in different parts of the country,” the minister further said. During his Kanpur visit, the President also visited his parental village of Paraunkh.
