Puri: President Ram Nath Kovind today
paid obeisance to the deities at Shree Jagannath Temple here
and sought blessings amid tight security.
Kovind, who is on his maiden visit to Odisha after
becoming President, was welcomed at the Singhdwar, the Lion's
Gate of the 12th century shrine, by Gajapati King of Puri
Dibyasingha Deb and senior servitors.
Accompanied by wife Savita Kovind, the President was
escorted inside the sprawling temple complex among others by
the Gajapati King of Puri, officials of Shree Jagannath Temple
Administrtaion (SJTA) and his family priest.
The President went inside the sanctum sanctorum of the
temple and offered prayers before the sibling deities of Lord
Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath during a special
darshan, said a senior priest.
Kovind also paid obeisance at the temples of Devi
Bimala and Mahalaxmi and went around the sprawling complex
spending around 45 minutes inside.
Elaborate arrangements were made by the district
administration and the officials of SJTA for the President s
visit to the temple.
A tight security net was thrown around the temple
which remained closed for the public for two hours in view of
the visit of Kovind, a senior official said.
Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha
Revenue Minister Maheswar Mohanty and Puri Collector Aravind
Agarwal were present on the occasion.
The President arrived in Bhubaneswar yesterday on
a two-day visit to Odisha.
PTI
