Hyderabad: Rashtrapati Nilayam opens its doors to general public

Hyderabad: Visitors were seen taking selfies with the Presidential buggy (a black carriage) and many enjoyed viewing the knowledge gallery on the first day of the opening of Rashtrapati Nilayam for the general public on Thursday.

According to Rashtrapati Nilayam staff, it is the first day and as many schools are having exams, only few visited the premises. We are expecting a huge crowd on the weekends and on our online booking site, all the slots are booked especially for Sundays. From now onwards it is open throughout the year, all six days a week (except Mondays and Government holidays) from 10:00 am to 05:00 pm, with the last entry at 04:00 pm. Visitors can book their slot online at http://visit.rashtrapatibhavan.gov.in and a nominal registration charge of Rs 50 per person for Indian nationals and Rs 250 per person for foreign nationals will be applicable.

"For long time, I and my family were waiting to have a glimpse of the vast property of the Nilayam, on Thursday we got an opportunity to visit the place and were stunned by with its aesthetic beauty, as earlier we could only visit the lush verdant gardens of Nilayam and have a glance of the iconic Heritage Bungalow through the glass panes but now we could visit the entire premises freely," said Rajani Reddy, a local resident of Bolarum.

"The Central Government has taken the right decision of opening the Rashtrapati Nilayam for the general public. We have been waiting for a long time, I love to stroll around the Rashtrapati Nilayam especially like to see the herbal gardens and Nakshatra Garden.

Every time whenever we visit the Nilayam we are able to see some new development and this time a new attractive development is the underground tunnel that connects through the Nilayam Kitchen to the Dining Hall and Cheriyal paintings depicted on the wall were amazing," said another visitor.