Puri: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday visited Srimandir and had a darshan of the Trinity at the sanctum sanctorum amid tight security. He spent around 20 minutes inside the temple and offered puja to the deities.
An Indian Air Force chopper carrying Modi landed at Talabania helipad at 10.23 am. District collector Aravind Agarwal, superintendent of police Ashis Kumar Singh, town municipality chairperson Jayanta Kumar Sarangi and a few leaders of the local unit of BJP greeted Modi at the helipad. On his part, Modi greeted the locals gathered near the helipad by saying ‘namashkar’.
The prime minister reached the Lions’ Gate of Srimandir by road at 10.50 am. Shree Jagannath temple administration (SJTA) chief administrator Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, Chhatisha Niyog Nayak Janardhan Pattajoshi Mahapatra and temple priest Raghunath Gochhikar welcomed Modi at the Lions’ Gate and offered him ‘khandua pata’.
“Modi reached the sanctum sanctorum through Baishi Pahacha (22 steps), Nata Mandap, Jay-Bijay and the Dhukudi door. He offered tulsi leaves (basil) and a karpura lamp to the Trinity,” said an SJYA official. Sources said a few temple priests recited the Vedas on the Nata Mandap to greet the prime minister.
According to sources, Modi briefly met the religious scholars at Mukti Mandap on the temple premises and paid them his respects. The scholars also felicitated Modi with a citation. The prime minister also visited the temples of Goddess Bimala and Goddess Mahalakshmi on Srimandir premises, sources said.
“The temple administration gifted a khandua pata, Maha Prasada and a Suna Besha replica of the Trinity made of thermocol to the prime minister. He left the Lions’ Gate for the helipad around 11.20 am,” said an SJTA official.
SJTA had suspended darshan of the deities by the general public for close to three hours during the prime minister’s visit. “Devotees were allowed to have a darshan of the Trinity after the prime minister’s departure from the shrine. The prime minister was also apprised of the ongoing renovation work at the Jagmohan,” said Mohapatra.