Puri: President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday donated Rs 1 lakh to the Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) after offering obeisance to the Holy Trinity at the 12th century shrine in Puri.
He along with his wife Savita-the first lady-offered worships in the sanctum sandstorm and spent around 40 minutes on the temple premises. After having darshan, Kovind handed over a cheque of Rs 1 lakh to the temple administration. Servitors presented him with a photo of the trinity in Nagarjuna Besha.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmOvrqeI1uY
Kovind reached the pilgrim town from Bhubaneswar by a special chopper at around 9 am from where he drove straight to the Singha Dwar. Puri Gajapati Maharaj Divyasingh Deb welcomed him to the temple while Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accompanied him to the 12th century shrine.
The temple was decorated with colourful flowers for the visit of the First Citizen. Kovind spent around 40 minutes in the temple.
Meanwhile, the town has come under thick security blanket with the deployment of 40 platoons of forces with 250 officers and 13 senior cops. All the makeshift shops and stalls from Medical Square to the temple along the Bada Danda will remain closed till the departure of the President.
After darshan of the trinity, the President will visit to the Sun Temple at Konark at 10.45 where he will spend around 30 minutes before heading towards India Oil Foundation Trust Interpretation Centre.
Kovind will have a brief stay at OTDC Jatri Nivas from 12 noon to 4 pm. He will reach Bhubaneswar airport at 4.45 before flying back to New Delhi in the evening.