<p>With the arrival of President of India, Pratibha Devisingh Patil to the Rashtrapati Nilayam for a 10-day long southern sojourn on December 25, the high security Cantonment area of Bolarum in Secunderabad is bustling with activity. <br /><br /></p>.<p>During her sojourn, the President would also visit the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Nellore district.<br /><br /> She would meet Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) scientists and officials and acquaint herself with the progress of the space programmes.<br /><br />Police have made elaborate security arrangements for the President’s stay at Rashtrapathi Nilayam.<br /><br />The public had a chance to see the inside of the sprawling mansion for the first time since Independence when it was opened for public viewing in January of 2011 for 10 days with the initiative of President.<br /><br />People-friendly<br />The opening up of Rashtrapati Nilayam premises for general public is President’s people-friendly initiatives. Earlier, a ‘Nature Trail’ in the premises of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, has also been opened for public entry.<br /><br />The visitors had a chance have a glimpse of the Herbal Garden in the premises of Rashtrapati Nilayam.<br /><br />The Herbal Garden has 116 species of medicinal and aromatic plants and is intended to bring in awareness about our rich heritage and diversity and also about medicinal values of various plants that grow widely in the surroundings and are useful for home remedial cure for a variety of diseases. <br /><br />The premises have a number of environment-friendly systems in place, such as solar lights, drip irrigation system, percolation pond, etc. For efficient and judicious use of natural resources, fruit gardens have also been developed on an area of about 35 acres of land.<br /><br />The history<br />The heritage palace was constructed by Nizam Nazir-ud-Dowla in 1860 and Sir Salar Jung was the Prime Minister. Bolarum was one of the Military Cantonment of Nizam Government and the magnificent palace used to be the residence of chief military officer. Later, it was occupied by the British Viceroys.<br /><br />After independence, it came under the control of Hyderabad Nizams and after the merger of Hyderabad State with the Indian union in 1950, the Government of India took over the building and converted as a resort for the stay of President and was christened as Rashtrapati Nilayam.<br /><br />The Rashtrapati Nilayam has a built up area of 2,500 square meters centrally located in a compound of around 90 acres of plush greenery. The main building consists of three wings-the president wing, family wing and ADC wing. Three wings have 20 rooms, a cinema hall, state dining hall, and morning room and ADC dining room. <br /><br />All the rooms are of single storied construction with Madras style roof at 20 to 25 feet height, surrounded by low level common verandah.<br /><br />Most interesting feature of the Rashtrapathi Nilayam is the 50-meter long ventilated tunnel that links the state kitchen to the state dining hall. P B Narayana Murty, in charge of the Rashtrapati Nilayam said that the tunnel was built for the safety of the Nizam, as he was worried that his food could be poisoned by his enemies. The premises also contain a 150-year-old well still used for irrigating the vast lawns of the Nilayam.<br /><br />Flag post<br />Another historical structure that the visitors should not miss is the replica of flag post. The flag post was originally located in the residential complex. <br /><br />The flag post cum weather watch instrument was located behind the complex in the lawns on North-West side. It was erected in 1867. It was here the Prince Azam Jah handed over the Hyderabad state to Indian Union.<br /><br />However, only a replica of the originally is exhibited in the Cinema Hall in the residential complex. The intention of locating Rashtrapati Nilayam at Secunderabad in Southern <br />India is to assess and understand various problems of the people who are located far way from the seat of power i.e., New Delhi. <br /><br />Dignitaries<br />So far, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, V V Giri, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Giani Zail Singh, R Venkataraman, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, K R Narayanan, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam visited Hyderabad and stayed here. The present president visited and stayed here in 2007, 2008 and 2010.<br /><br />The only other presidential retreat is located on the hill top of the Mashobra, in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. The building was taken over during 1895 by the Viceroy. The President visits The Retreat at least once a year and the core office shifts to that place during stay in The Retreat. <br /><br />A 1,000-feet higher than the Shimla Ridge Top, The Retreat is located in a picturesque surrounding.<br /><br />The architectural pattern and the natural beauty of the place have made The Retreat a tourist attraction in Shimla. <br /><br />The redeeming feature of this building is that it is purely a wooden structure with dajji wall construction. Originally constructed in 1850, this building has a plinth area of 10,628 sq. ft.<br /></p>
<p>With the arrival of President of India, Pratibha Devisingh Patil to the Rashtrapati Nilayam for a 10-day long southern sojourn on December 25, the high security Cantonment area of Bolarum in Secunderabad is bustling with activity. <br /><br /></p>.<p>During her sojourn, the President would also visit the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Nellore district.<br /><br /> She would meet Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) scientists and officials and acquaint herself with the progress of the space programmes.<br /><br />Police have made elaborate security arrangements for the President’s stay at Rashtrapathi Nilayam.<br /><br />The public had a chance to see the inside of the sprawling mansion for the first time since Independence when it was opened for public viewing in January of 2011 for 10 days with the initiative of President.<br /><br />People-friendly<br />The opening up of Rashtrapati Nilayam premises for general public is President’s people-friendly initiatives. Earlier, a ‘Nature Trail’ in the premises of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, has also been opened for public entry.<br /><br />The visitors had a chance have a glimpse of the Herbal Garden in the premises of Rashtrapati Nilayam.<br /><br />The Herbal Garden has 116 species of medicinal and aromatic plants and is intended to bring in awareness about our rich heritage and diversity and also about medicinal values of various plants that grow widely in the surroundings and are useful for home remedial cure for a variety of diseases. <br /><br />The premises have a number of environment-friendly systems in place, such as solar lights, drip irrigation system, percolation pond, etc. For efficient and judicious use of natural resources, fruit gardens have also been developed on an area of about 35 acres of land.<br /><br />The history<br />The heritage palace was constructed by Nizam Nazir-ud-Dowla in 1860 and Sir Salar Jung was the Prime Minister. Bolarum was one of the Military Cantonment of Nizam Government and the magnificent palace used to be the residence of chief military officer. Later, it was occupied by the British Viceroys.<br /><br />After independence, it came under the control of Hyderabad Nizams and after the merger of Hyderabad State with the Indian union in 1950, the Government of India took over the building and converted as a resort for the stay of President and was christened as Rashtrapati Nilayam.<br /><br />The Rashtrapati Nilayam has a built up area of 2,500 square meters centrally located in a compound of around 90 acres of plush greenery. The main building consists of three wings-the president wing, family wing and ADC wing. Three wings have 20 rooms, a cinema hall, state dining hall, and morning room and ADC dining room. <br /><br />All the rooms are of single storied construction with Madras style roof at 20 to 25 feet height, surrounded by low level common verandah.<br /><br />Most interesting feature of the Rashtrapathi Nilayam is the 50-meter long ventilated tunnel that links the state kitchen to the state dining hall. P B Narayana Murty, in charge of the Rashtrapati Nilayam said that the tunnel was built for the safety of the Nizam, as he was worried that his food could be poisoned by his enemies. The premises also contain a 150-year-old well still used for irrigating the vast lawns of the Nilayam.<br /><br />Flag post<br />Another historical structure that the visitors should not miss is the replica of flag post. The flag post was originally located in the residential complex. <br /><br />The flag post cum weather watch instrument was located behind the complex in the lawns on North-West side. It was erected in 1867. It was here the Prince Azam Jah handed over the Hyderabad state to Indian Union.<br /><br />However, only a replica of the originally is exhibited in the Cinema Hall in the residential complex. The intention of locating Rashtrapati Nilayam at Secunderabad in Southern <br />India is to assess and understand various problems of the people who are located far way from the seat of power i.e., New Delhi. <br /><br />Dignitaries<br />So far, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, V V Giri, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Giani Zail Singh, R Venkataraman, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, K R Narayanan, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam visited Hyderabad and stayed here. The present president visited and stayed here in 2007, 2008 and 2010.<br /><br />The only other presidential retreat is located on the hill top of the Mashobra, in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. The building was taken over during 1895 by the Viceroy. The President visits The Retreat at least once a year and the core office shifts to that place during stay in The Retreat. <br /><br />A 1,000-feet higher than the Shimla Ridge Top, The Retreat is located in a picturesque surrounding.<br /><br />The architectural pattern and the natural beauty of the place have made The Retreat a tourist attraction in Shimla. <br /><br />The redeeming feature of this building is that it is purely a wooden structure with dajji wall construction. Originally constructed in 1850, this building has a plinth area of 10,628 sq. ft.<br /></p>
