PURI: President Ram Nath Kovind - who along with the First Lady and his daughter offered prayers to the Trinity at Sri Jagannath temple on Monday - was overwhelmed to see his father’s signature in the traditional register of pilgrims maintained by his family servitor at the 12th century shrine.
A photocopy of his father’s signature was also presented to the President, said Chief Administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration Dr Krishan Kumar.
After arriving at Puri helipad, Kovind was escorted to Srimandir amid tight security. The President was welcomed at the temple gate by Puri Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb, Dr Kumar, Collector Samarth Verma, ADG, Law and Order Yashwant Jethwa and SP K Vishal Singh.
The Puri King presented the traditional ‘Khandua Pata’, a special silk cloth used for religious purposes, to the President.
The Kovinds were escorted into the sanctum sanctorum of the main temple by the family priest and other officials where the First Family offered prayers to the deities.
The President also had darshan of Goddess Vimala and Mahalaxmi in the temple complex. The president bowed before the pundits sitting on Mukti Mandap.
The SJTA chief administrator said, the President dropped an envelope into Srimandir ‘hundi’ and enquired about various practices and rituals performed in the 12th century shrine. The SJTA presented a pattachitra of the Trinity to Kovind.
He also expressed satisfaction over the massive beautification drive near the temple. For some time, he watched the heritage and security corridor being developed around the Srimandir.
The President donated also Rs 1 lakh to the temple administration to be spent on the development work.
After spending around 45 minutes in the shrine, the President and his family came out for a photo session with journalists and waived to the crowd.
Kovind then went to the Sun Temple at Konark with Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal and Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
He was shown a documentary film on the Sun temple in the interpretation hall. The President planted saplings on the temple premises.
After having lunch at the Yatri Nivas, the President departed for Bhubaneswar in a helicopter at around 4.20 pm.
Over 40 platoons of police force and 250 officers were deployed for Kovind’s visit. The Srimandir was cleared of all the devotees before one hour of his visit.
Except servitors on duty, none was allowed into the shrine. The routes from Puri helipad to Srimandir and Konark helipad to Sun temple were heavily fortified. Kovind had last visited Srimandir in 2018.