President A P J Abdul Kalam will take a motorboat ride through the famous Dal Lake to reach the Hazratbal shrine on Friday.

Kalam, whose three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir starts Thursday, will be the first President to take a boat ride in the Dal Lake in more than two decades.

He will offer prayers at Hazratbal, which houses the holy relic of Prophet Mohammed.

The motorboat ride is expected to take around 15 minutes and the President will use the same route to come back to the Raj Bhavan, from where he will fly to a forward location in Uri on the Line of Control.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the President's visit.

A convoy of motorboats carrying security personnel will guard the VIP's boat.

As a precautionary measure, a car cavalcade will also be in place at the Hazratbal shrine for easy evacuation of the President in case of exigencies.