President in Kerala for two-day visit

President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam arrived in Kochi yesterday for a two-day visit to Kerala. After assuming the highest office in India, this is his first visit to Kerala, where he had spent about 20 years as a scientist.

He was scheduled to leave for the state capital late yesterday after attending functions here, and at Kozhikode and Attappadi.

Abdul Kalam landed in Kochi yesterday morning by a special plane to a rousing reception. After inspecting the guard of honour he visited the Southern Naval Command and proceeded to Kozhikode by helicopter. He inaugurated the Kozhikode Farooq College library.

Then at Attappadi, he launched the Rs 360 million socio-economic schemes for tribals as part of the Rs2 billion Attappady Wasteland Comprehensive Environmental Conservation Project.

Abdul Kalam also visited the Amruta Institute of Medical Sciences, and attended a function of a children's organisation here.

In Thiruvananthapuram, he is expected to stay at the Raj Bhavan overnight and is scheduled to visit the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thumba this morning. At 11.30 am, he would dedicate the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology to the nation.

In the afternoon, he is scheduled to declare open the platinum jubilee of the Varkala Sivagiri Sreenarayana Dharma Samgham Trust and the 'Kerala bridging the digital divide'‚ a programme organised by the Kerala IT Mission.

He would present the Swadeshabhimani Award 2002 to well known journalist V.K. Madhavankutty at the Kanaka-kkunnu Palace Hall before returning to New Delhi in the evening.