President reaches Shimla on six-day sojourn

President Pranab Mukherjee was accorded a ceremonial reception on Thursday on his arrival in the Himachal Pradesh capital on a six-day sojourn.

He was given a guard of honour at the Kalyani helipad near here where Governor Acharya Devvrat, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his cabinet colleagues were present to receive him.

Official sources said Mukherjee would stay at The Retreat, the president's summer holiday resort, just 15 km uphill from Shimla where Congress president Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Vadra's cottage is being constructed.

His daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee accompanied him.

Mukherjee will also preside over the convocation of the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday at Peterhoff, a heritage hotel that was first occupied in 1876 by the then Viceroy, Lord Lytton.

Later in the evening, he will attend the state banquet at Raj Bhawan.

This is his third visit to the hill state after becoming the president. He last came here on a five-day visit in last June.

--IANS

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