PURI : A good number of union ministers and chief ministers from various states paid respects to the Trnity at the Sri Jagannath Temple on Wednesday. In the morning, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Bhupender Yadav, and local MP Sambit Patra visited the temple.
Later in the afternoon, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant arrived, followed by Haryana CM Naib Singh Saini and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Rajnath Singh, Vaishnaw, along with Patra, partook in the Mahaprasad feast served on traditional banana leaf plates at the special circuit house.
The VIP guests were welcomed by the district and temple administration, receiving traditional Khandua from the temple authorities and blessings from the servitors.
Late in the night, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, along with his cabinet colleagues, is expected to visit the temple to pay their respects and offer prayers to the deities.
The administration has been working on a war-footing to open all four gates of the temple for devotees on Thursday morning after the chief minister announced it on Wednesday. SP Pinak Mishra and district magistrate Sidharth Shankar Swain besides the temple administration officials are looking after the arrangements.