Darjeeling is set to host President Droupadi Murmu later this week when she visits to attend the 9th International Santal Council.

The two-day event will be held in Siliguri on March 7 and 8.

“President Droupadi Murmu will arrive here on March 6 and stay at Lok Bhavan in Darjeeling. On the next day, she will inaugurate the event in Siliguri,” said Chhotan Kisku, secretary of the organising committee of the council’s Darjeeling district committee and former MLA of Phansidewa Assembly constituency.

Raj Bhavans across the country have recently been renamed as Lok Bhavans.

The President will land at the Lebong helipad and proceed to the Bhavan. She is expected to address the people of Darjeeling that evening.

According to Kisku, around 1,200 delegates and 300 invited guests from across the country are expected to participate in the Siliguri event.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, along with her Jharkhand and Odisha counterparts, Hemant Soren and Mohan Charan Majhi, respectively, have also been invited to attend the event.

A 45-member organising committee has been constituted for the programme, with Naresh Murmu as president and Chunia Murmu, a central committee member of the council, among its key members.

Discussions will focus on the socio-economic development of the Santal community, said sources.

During the event, President Murmu will also participate in a plantation drive.

The last president to visit Darjeeling was Pranab Mukherjee in 2016. The Bengal government had hosted a state reception in his honour at Chowrasta. He had also attended the birth anniversary celebrations of Nepali poet Bhanubhakta Acharya and addressed the annual general meeting of the Darjeeling Tea Association.