Now ‘Kumarakom musings’ for president

KUMARAKOM - The picturesque Kumarakom tourist destination on the banks of the sea-sized Vembanad Lake is all decked up to receive President Pratibha Patil and her family members Thursday afternoon.

The president will be here for the next three days with her husband, daughter and other family members.

She will attend two programmes in Kerala capital Thiruvananthapuram and be the chief guest at the famed Nehru Boat Race at Alappuzha Saturday. But her base will be Villa No.24 at the Taj Garden Retreat overlooking the Vembanad Lake.

The president will arrive from New Delhi at Kochi Thursday, fly by a helicopter to Kottayam and reach Kumarakom by road. Educational institutions have been given a holiday in parts of Kottayam district through which she will be moving during her holiday.

Patil will participate in the valedictory functions of the birth centenary celebrations of Saint Alphonsa in Kottayam.

She will Friday fly to the capital city for attending two programmes there, and later return to Kottayam.

The president will go to Alappuzha Saturday and after watching the Nehru Boat Race, would return to New Delhi from Kochi.

Kottayam District Collector Minnie Antony said all arrangements are in place and two trial runs have also been made to see that everything is in order.

Kumarkom has been attracting a steady stream of visitors for long, but after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited it in 2000, it got a major boost as an international tourist destination. Vajpayee wrote his much-talked about “My musings from Kumarakom” at the lake resort.