President to undertake train journey to visit birthplace in UP

President Ram Nath Kovind will undertake a train journey on Friday to visit his birthplace in Uttar Pradesh, where he will interact with his old acquaintances from school days and the early days of his social service.

It would be after a gap of 15 years that an incumbent president will travel by train.

This is the first time that Kovind will visit his birthplace after becoming the President, a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said on Wednesday.

Though he 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, the statement said.

Kovind will embark on a journey to Kanpur on a special presidential train from the Safdarjung railway station in Delhi on June 25.

"The train will make two stop-overs, at Jhinjhak and Rura of Kanpur Dehat, where the president will interact with his old acquaintances from his school days and from early days of his social service," the statement said.

The two stop-overs are close to the President's birthplace, Paraunkh village in Kanpur Dehat, where two functions to felicitate him are scheduled on June 27, it added.

The last time a President travelled by train was in 2006 when A P J Abdul Kalam boarded a special train from Delhi to Dehradun to attend the passing-out parade of the Indian Military Academy cadets.

Records show that the country's first President, Rajendra Prasad, often undertook train journeys, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

Soon after taking office as the President, he visited his birthplace, Ziradei in Bihar's Siwan district.

Prasad boarded the President's special train from Chhapra to reach Ziradei, where he spent three days, the statement said.

He travelled across the country by train.

Prasad's successors also preferred train journeys to connect with the people of the country.

On June 28, Kovind will board the train at the Kanpur Central railway station to reach Lucknow for his two-day visit to the capital city of Uttar Pradesh.

On June 29, he will return to New Delhi on a special flight, the statement said.