Puri: President Ram Nath Kovind today evening visited the Shree Jagannath Temple here and sought the blessings of Lord Jagannath.
After leaving Raj Bhawan here at around 4.50 PM Kovind arrived at the Singhadwar (Lions Gate) amid tight security within 10 minutes.
At the Singhadwar the President was given a warm welcome by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA). Later he was ushered into the temple by the sevayats (temple servitors).
The President accompanied by his wife Savita Kovind- the first lady of the country, his daughter, and other family members had darshan of Mahaprabhu Jagannath and his siblings in the garbha gruha (sanctum sanctorum) of the temple. He sought the blessings of the Lords.
Later, Kovind and his family had darshan of Maa Bimala and Mahalakshmi.
The President will stay for the night at the Raj Bhawan here.
On Sunday, the President will inaugurate the three-year celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Srimad Bhakti Sidhant Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada, the founder of Goudiya Mission. He will also visit Sri Chaitanya Gaudiya Mutt at 10.30 a.m.
Tight security has been put in place in the Puri town for the visit. Around 40 platoons of police force have been deployed as part of the security arrangement in the pilgrim town.
Earlier in the day, the President landed in Bhubaneswar in a special plane and had left for Puri in a special IAF helicopter.
