Puri: On her maiden 2-day visit to Odisha, President Droupadi Murmu landed at Talabania helipad in a special Air Force chopper on Thursday after being accorded a guard of honour at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar, where she was received by Governor Ganeshi Lal, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Murmu scripted history as she chose to walk around 2 km from the Medical Chhak along Bada Danda (Grand Road) to offer prayers at Jagannath Temple in the pilgrim town. She surprised her security details when she got off the vehicle and started walking along Grand Road. The security personnel created a ring around her all the way.
She was greeted by a group of schoolchildren while on her way to the 12th-century shrine and she obliged by posing for a picture with them.
She was welcomed by Puri Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb at the temple. Following the customary rituals, she touched the Aruna Stambha (Sun Pillar) and sought blessings before heading towards Singhadwara (Lion gateway) of Jagannath Temple.
She then washed her feet and entered the temple while touching all 22 steps of the temple and spent around an hour inside the 12-century shrine.
Thereafter, she was gifted a memento of the sibling deities outside the temple.
Following this, she offered floral tributes to Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das and put a garland for his statue near Singhadwar.
She then proceeded to the Raj Bhavan at Puri where she had ‘mahaprasad’ along with Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb and Maharani Leelavati Pat Mahadei, before leaving for Bhubaneswar to attend other programmes.
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