President on 3-day visit to state

President Pranab Mukherjee will be on a three-day visit to West Bengal starting December 12 during which he will attend a number of programmes here, Howrah and his former Lok Sabha constituency of Jangipur.
Officials at the State Secretariat said today the President would arrive here from Delhi on December 12 afternoon and inaugurate an exhibition of recent paintings by Shahabuddin Ahmed at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in the evening.
On December 13, the President would deliver Deb Ranjan Mukherjee Memorial lecture at a function at the Raj Bhavan in the morning. The programme would be organised by a school in Birbhum district.

Later, the President would inaugurate a 51-foot-tall idol of Lord Shiva at Sett Bansilal Jalan Memorial Temple at Salkia in Howrah district in the noon.
In the evening, the President would participate in the 125th birth anniversary celebration of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, organised by Bidhan Memorial Trust, at the Calcutta University Centenary Hall.
On December 14, he would deliver Indira Gandhi Memorial lecture at the historic Asiatic Society in the morning. Thereafter, he would leave for Jangipur, from where he contested Lok Sabha election, by a helicopter to participate in the concluding function of K K Mukherjee Memorial Football Tournament.

He said it is important that this strong relationship of

goodwill develops into everlasting ties of mutual faith and warmth between our great nations.
Mukherjee said the Staff College has been accorded ISO 9001 & 14001 certification as a 'Centre of Excellence' in joint operations training.
"The award of Presidential Colours is a befitting tribute to the eternal spirit of this great institution. I am certain that this historic day will strengthen your resolve for achieving all round excellence and the Staff College will continue to produce military leaders of great repute and resolve with a yearning to serve our great nation," he said.

The Presidential Colour is a symbol of excellence and has been earned by the units with their dedication and worthy contribution, both during the peace and war. It marks and depicts the hard work, valour and sacrifice of all the personnel posted to these units.
Mukherjee, on a two-day visit to Tamil Nadu, arrived at Coimbatore airport by a special aircraft this afternoon and reached here by a chopper.
He will be flying to Chennai to attend the passing out parade ceremony (PoP) at the Officers' Training Academy and Centenary Celebrations of Karur Vysya Bank tomorrow.