Puducherry government gears up for a hectic, year-ending week ahead, with visits by V-P and Union Minister

The government is gearing up for an extraordinarily hectic, year-ending week ahead, that will include visits by Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan and Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, amidst an anticipated upsurge in tourist arrivals for the New Year celebrations.

Mr. Radhakrishnan, whose arrival on December 29 (Monday), marks his first visit to the city since assuming the office of the Vice-President in September, and a return to a place where he previously served as the Lieutenant Governor (March 19, 2024 to August 6, 2024).

In March 2024, Mr. Radhakrishnan, who was then Jharkhand Governor, was given additional charge of the Union Territory and the Telangana governorship. In July, he was appointed Governor of Maharashtra and a couple of months later elected to the post of Vice-President.

According to sources, the Vice-President will be accorded a civic reception at an event scheduled in Kamban Kalaiarangam. At the same function, he will distribute keys to tenement dwellers in Kumaragurupallam who were relocated to a 216-unit apartment complex under the Smart City project.

Thereafter, Mr. Radhakrishnan will participate as the chief guest in the 30th convocation ceremony of Pondicherry University scheduled at the newly-built International Convention Centre (ICC) of the institution. The Vice-President, who is also the ex-officio Chancellor of the Pondicherry University, will formally open the ICC complex with a capacity to accommodate 2,500 persons and deliver the convocation address. He is also scheduled to dedicate a 100-foot-tall flagpole for hoisting the National Flag on the campus, according to the Pondicherry University.

The convocation is being held for the academic years 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 in which a total of 73,527 candidates will be conferred with their degrees in various disciplines. Around 746 candidates will be awarded Ph.D. degrees and gold medals will be presented in person to 191 toppers from 2021, 191 candidates from 2022, 192 from 2023 and 186 from 2024 across various disciplines, including UG and PG programmes.

Mr. Rai, who arrives on Friday night on a two-day visit, is expected to participate in a couple of public events on Saturday and will hold a review of flagship schemes at the Chief Secretariat. He is also expected to pay a visit to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

On Wednesday, Chief Minister N. Rangasamy chaired a high-level consultation regarding the security measures for the visit of the Vice-President. The meeting also reviewed arrangements for the anticipated increase in tourist footfalls for the New Year celebrations. Incidentally, the Chief Minister is hosting luncheons for both Mr. Radhakrishnan on Monday and Mr. Rai on Saturday.

Speaker R. Selvam, Home Minister A. Namassivayam, Public Works Minister K. Lakshminarayanan, Chief Secretary Sharat Chauhan, Government Secretaries A. Muthamma, R. Kesavan, Mohammed Ahsan Abid, Chaudhary Mohammed Yasin and District Collector A. Kulothungan participated.

Others who attended the meeting were R. Kalaivanan, Senior Superintendent of Police (Law & Order), Chintha Kothandaraman, A. Subramanian, R. Ragunathan and Rachana Singh, Superintendents of Police, K. Veeraselvam, PWD Chief Engineer, Mathew Francis, Director of Information and Publicity, K. Muralidharan, Director of Tourism, J. Ramesh, Medical Superintendent of Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital and Post Graduate Institute, M. Kandasamy, Commissioner of Pondicherry Municipality, A. Suresh Raj, Commissioner, Oulgaret Municipality and K. Ilango, Divisional Fire Officer.