President releases commemorative coin on Lord Jagannath

Puri: President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday released Rs 10 and Rs 1000 commemorative coins on Lord Jagannath's Nabakalebar festival on the second day of his Odisha visit. The commemorative coins were released at a function of Rastriya Sanskrit Sansthan at Puri.

The Government of India had earlier announced for the release of coins of Rs 10 and Rs 1,000 denominations to mark the symbolic recreation of sibling deities including Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and devi Subhadra.

In his maiden visit to Odisha after assuming office as the President, Ram Nath Kovind earlier visited Puri Srimandir to seek blessings of Lord Jagannath.

Elaborate arrangements were made by district administration and the officials of Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) for the President’s visit to the temple.

Kovind along with his wife had a darshan of the sibling deities from inside the Garbha Griha of the 12th century shrine.

"Today, I had a darshan of Lord Jagannath in Puri and prayed for peace, prosperity for the people of the country," said Kovind.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Puri Collector Aravind Agarwal, Revenue Minister Maheswar Mohanty were also present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, servitors were unhappy over deviation as many of them were not allowed to perform the services during the visit of the President at the temple.

"Our rights were lost as we did not get donation," said President of Mahasuar Nijog, Damodar Mahasuar.

Chief Administrator of Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Pradeep Kumar Jena on the other hand refutted such allegations.

"The security officers had done thier duty and SJTA had no role in it," said Jena.

Earlier, President Ram Nath Kovind arrived on a two-day Odisha visit on Saturday and dedicated Ananda Bhawan Museum-cum-learning centre to the nation at a special function held in Cuttack.

Later, he also delivered the 3rd Foundation Day lecture at National Law University in Cuttack yesterday.