Amit Shah arrives in Odisha
Bureau,Odishabarta
Bhubaneswar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived here at Biju Patnaik International Airport during which he will attend the 75th anniversary function of an Odia daily and launch a book on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among other programmes.
State BJP president Samir Mohanty, Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi and other State leaders received Shah, who arrived at 1.30 am along with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. A large number of party workers and supporters had also gathered at the airport to welcome the Home Minister.
Elaborate security arrangements were put in place on the stretch of the road leading to a private hotel in Jayadev Vihar area in the city where Shah is staying.
During his tour, Shah will pay obeisance at Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar, visit the birthplace of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and attend the 75th anniversary function of the Odia daily ‘Prajatantra’ at Indoor Stadium in Cuttack.
Shah will also launch the Odisha chapter of ‘Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery’ and attend a meeting of the BJP’s core committee, party leaders said.
While the twin cities were bedecked with posters, banners and placards of Shah, mega pictures and hoardings of the ruling BJD and its president Naveen Patnaik had also been erected in the same places.
The BJP’s posters included huge cut-outs of Shah and in some places Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the saffron background, while Naveen’s hoardings were done in green frameworks. Bhubaneswar BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi put some hoardings with pictures of Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president J P Nadda and herself.
Some other BJP leaders also put their posters across the road from Biju Patnaik International Airport here till Cuttack where the programme will be held on Monday. Shah’s posters were seen near Shree Lingaraj temple where the Union Home Minister will start his Odisha visit on Monday. Such posters were also seen all along the 25-km-long road from Bhubaneswar to Cuttack and also within the millennium city. Before attending the 75th anniversary of Odia daily Prajatantra, founded by freedom fighter and former chief minister Harekrushna Mahtab, Shah will pay his tributes to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at the revolutionary leader’s birthplace at Odia Bazaar in Cuttack.
Shah will go on a roadshow to Indoor Stadium, about 2 km, crossing several localities of Cuttack, where the programme will be held.
Naveen, on the other hand, will reach Cuttack by a chopper. He will be taken in a procession covering about 1 km from the helipad to Indoor Stadium.
Keeping in view the race between the governing and Opposition parties, sources said, the organiser has divided the seats in Jawaharlal Indoor Stadium into equal numbers.
Meanwhile, Cuttack DCP Pinak Mishra said the Union Home Minister’s carcade will head for Indoor Stadium from Phulnakhara. “Special traffic arrangements will be made and there will be no vehicular movement on the route. A total of 30 platoons of the police force will be deployed in the city,” he said.
In Bhubaneswar also, police have tightened security and 22 platoons will be deployed. “We have completed advance security check and the cavalcade rehearsals are done as per protocol. All steps are being taken to ensure that there are no security lapses,” Bhubaneswar DCP Prateek Singh said.
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