PM Modi walks on Shimla's Mall amid petal showering

Tribune News Service

Bhanu P Lohumi

Shimla, May 31

Amid showering of rose petals, Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his roadshow from the Central Telegraph Office (CTO) here today. He surprised everyone by walking on The Mall Road from Scandal Point to Khadhi Bandhar along with Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.

Receives mother’s sketch from girl

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke the high-security protocol on seeing a girl carrying a pencil sketch of his mother en route to the roadshow and stopped his cavalcade to meet her.
• He thanked the girl, who belongs to Shimla, for presenting him the handmade sketch. — IANS

The Prime Minister received a rousing reception from people gathered along The Mall Road. Slogans like ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, ‘Swagat Hai Bhai Swagat Hai, Modi ji ka Swagat Hai’ and ‘Modi Ji ko Jai Shree Ram’ rented the air.

It was a rare opportunity for the people to see the Prime Minister from such a close distance. Eleven quintals of rose petals were bought for welcoming the Prime Minister. “We have kept rose petals at 19 locations on The Mall Road to be distributed among people for showering these on the Prime Minister,” said Yoginder Singh Chandel, a BJP worker.

On his way back, Modi accepted greetings from people waiting to catch his glimpse. Shimla adorned a saffron look with thousands of BJP flags fluttering and hoarding and cutouts of party leaders erected all along The Mall Road and The Ridge. Local residents clicked selfies with Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on The Mall Road while the Prime Minister’s carcade was leaving.

Women from Kinnaur were dressed in their traditional attire and various groups of workers coming to the venue were led by musicians playing traditional instruments. The venue of the rally was packed much before the Prime Minister’s arrival.

As many as 15 LEDs were installed in the city so that people could listen to Modi’s speech but the live telecast and voice quality were poor at some places. About 2,500 vehicles, including buses, coming from other districts were parked on the outskirts of the city. The city was divided into three sectors for traffic management, said Deputy Commissioner Aditya Negi.

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