Come 2013, you can visit President House on Sundays too
22 Dec 2012 1:38 AM GMT
In yet another effort by President Pranab Mukherjee to make Rashtrapati Bhavan accessible to common people, President House will be opened for public viewing on Sundays and for increased hours.
An online system of booking for tours of Rashtrapati Bhavan was launched by secretary to the president, Omita Paul, on Friday, said an official communique.
Interested persons can log on to the web site www.presidentofindia.nic.in from Friday and register themselves in the ‘online booking’ system for visits post 1 January 2013.
Beginning next year, Rashtrapati Bhavan will be opened for public viewing on Sundays too and for increased hours from 9 am to 4 pm without any lunch break.
Presently, it is open on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Entry is free. ‘President is a man of strong democratic tradition and humble beginning. He would like to have as many people come and see life at Rashtrapati Bhavan. He has instructed all the staff to make the President House accessible to people,’ Venu Rajamony, press secretary to the president, said.
Two routes for such visits have been created and visitors can choose between them. ‘Visits can be booked up to 30 days in advance. On-line booking provides time-slot options starting from 9 am to 4 pm and also indicates the available days for visit to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Each time-slot will be available for up to 50 visitors. In case of school children visits/group visits, this restriction will not apply,’ it said.
After online booking, within two working days, confirmation will be sent by email. The status of the booking can be checked on-line using the registration number and date of birth.
In case of cancellation of tours due to other official engagements in Rashtrapati Bhavan, information will be sent by email to those who have booked tours.
‘The system will operate on first come-first serve basis. Those who do not have email facility or access to the Internet can continue to follow the existing system of writing to deputy military secretary, Rashtrapati Bhavan,’ it said.
According to President House, the online booking system will cut down on paper communication and is environment-friendly.
‘It will make management of visitors more efficient and provide visitors with a wide option of time-slots. The system has a tour guide management module, which will also be functional from 1 January 2013, using which guides will be allocated to each group of 50 visitors,’ it added.
An online system of booking for tours of Rashtrapati Bhavan was launched by secretary to the president, Omita Paul, on Friday, said an official communique.
Interested persons can log on to the web site www.presidentofindia.nic.in from Friday and register themselves in the ‘online booking’ system for visits post 1 January 2013.
Beginning next year, Rashtrapati Bhavan will be opened for public viewing on Sundays too and for increased hours from 9 am to 4 pm without any lunch break.
Presently, it is open on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Entry is free. ‘President is a man of strong democratic tradition and humble beginning. He would like to have as many people come and see life at Rashtrapati Bhavan. He has instructed all the staff to make the President House accessible to people,’ Venu Rajamony, press secretary to the president, said.
Two routes for such visits have been created and visitors can choose between them. ‘Visits can be booked up to 30 days in advance. On-line booking provides time-slot options starting from 9 am to 4 pm and also indicates the available days for visit to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Each time-slot will be available for up to 50 visitors. In case of school children visits/group visits, this restriction will not apply,’ it said.
After online booking, within two working days, confirmation will be sent by email. The status of the booking can be checked on-line using the registration number and date of birth.
In case of cancellation of tours due to other official engagements in Rashtrapati Bhavan, information will be sent by email to those who have booked tours.
‘The system will operate on first come-first serve basis. Those who do not have email facility or access to the Internet can continue to follow the existing system of writing to deputy military secretary, Rashtrapati Bhavan,’ it said.
According to President House, the online booking system will cut down on paper communication and is environment-friendly.
‘It will make management of visitors more efficient and provide visitors with a wide option of time-slots. The system has a tour guide management module, which will also be functional from 1 January 2013, using which guides will be allocated to each group of 50 visitors,’ it added.
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