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Prez completes 2 yrs in office, keen on public interaction

Last Updated 24 July 2014, 21:04 IST

When an active political leader like Pranab Mukherjee moved into Rashtrapati Bhavan, what he missed most was frequent interaction with the people.

But as he completes two years in office on Friday, Mukherjee looks forward to making the President’s Office more “people-oriented” rather than an imposing high post.

As his aides say, Mukherjee’s second year in office has kept pace with the President’s belief that the Rashtrapati Bhavan belongs to the nation and its people.

An innovative programme was launched for the first time to provide residency in the Rashtrapati Bhavan for periods of up to a month to innovators, writers and artists selected through a national level screening process.

The first batch of five innovation scholars included a serial inventor, an entrepreneur who was earlier a rickshaw puller, a research scholar and two students, the youngest of whom was 16 years old.

Each one of them conveyed how honoured and inspired they felt to be given an opportunity to be guests of the President in Rashtrapati Bhavan, aides say.

Over 6,60,000  people visited the Rashtrapati Bhavan during the second year of Mukherjee’s presidency, including around half a million visitors during the opening of the Mughal Gardens in February-March.

Mukherjee is particular to have more people visiting and appreciating the splendour of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the erstwhile residence of the British Viceroy.

Few official residential premises of the Head of the State in the world will match the Rashtrapati Bhavan in terms of its size and grandeur.

A new museum has been opened for the public, while a second museum will be inaugurated in 2015. A new ceremonial hall is set to open by October, while a sewage treatment plant will be commissioned by November.

The President went for an active online presence and the official website received 171 million hits since its creation on August 3.

Aides say over 5,00,000 people have visited the YouTube channel of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

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(Published 24 July 2014, 21:04 IST)

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