Preparations are under way for the visit of President Draupadi Murmu to the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Saturday.
On Thursday, a practice landing of the helicopter in which Ms. Murmu is scheduled to reach MTR was staged inside the tiger reserve. Officials said that the landing was part of standard protocol to ensure that the landing pad met safety standards.
Ms. Murmu is expected to visit the Theppakadu Elephant Camp in MTR and to meet adivasi couple, Bomman and Bellie, who were featured in the award-winning documentary, Elephant Whisperes.
A meeting was also held in MTR, which was chaired by Additional Chief Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forests, Supriya Sahu, and was attended by Chief Wildlife Warden, Srinivas R. Reddy, Field Director of MTR, D. Venkatesh, Nilgiris District Collector, S.P. Amrith and District Superintendent of Police K. Prabhakar.
Preparations for the visit of the President were discussed at the meeting.
Officials stated that security around the Theppakadu Elephant Camp and around the reserve would be scaled up in the run-up to Ms. Murmu’s visit. Police presence has also been stepped up with regular patrolling and combing operations being undertaken as part of a slew of safety precautions.
The Theppakadu Elephant Camp was also closed to tourist visitors from July 31, and will be closed till the end of the President’s visit. According to sources, Ms. Murmu is scheduled to arrive by military helicopter on Saturday at around 3.30 p.m. , and to participate in activities around the camp, and depart around an hour later by helicopter to Chennai.
A total of five police officials of the rank of SP, 18 ADSPs, totaling 924 police personnel are to be deployed in lieu of the visit. Personnel from the Naxal Special Division, Special Task Force and forest personnel, with the use of drones are combing the forest areas as a precautionary measure.
