President Kovind visits Jagannath Temple, donates Rs 1 lakh for development of shrine

President Ram Nath Kovind and First Lady Savita Kovind visited the Lord Jagannath temple in Puri on Monday. President Kovind was accompanied by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who took to Twitter to share the news. Pradhan wrote that President Kovind and his wife Savita donated Rs. 1 lakh for the development of the shrine. President Kovind, who was on a three-day visit to Odisha, will return to New Delhi on Monday. 

President donates Rs. 1 lakh for developmemt

According to Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, President Kovind visited the temple for about 40 minutes. President Kovind and his wife offered prayers to deities at the Lord Jagannath temple before meeting with the administrators to hand them a cheque of Rs. 1 lakh for the development of the shrine. The President and The First Lady also sought blessings from Mahaprabhu Jagannath.

"It is a matter of great pride for the entire Hindu samaj, Jagannath devotees across the globe and 4.5 crore Odia brothers and sisters that Hon. President has joined the #NidhiSmarpanAbhiyan for the pious work of development of Sri Jagannath Dham," Dharmendra Pradhan tweeted. 

President Kovind and his wife Savita also visited the Sun Temple in Konark, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. President Kovind took a tour of the Sun Temple Interpretation Centre, a new-age museum that was inaugurated in 2018 to educate tourists and future generations about the rich history of Konark Temple.

President Kovind's Odisha visit

President Kovind had reached Odisha on March 20 and the next day he graced the 18th annual convocation of NIT Rourkela. On the same day, President Kovind inaugurated a Super Specialty Hospital in the Rourkela Steel Plant. On Monday, President Kovind visited Lord Jagannath Temple to offer prayers. He then visited the Indian Oil Foundation Trust Interpretation Centre at Konark, from where he will return to New Delhi later in the day.

(Image Credit: Dharmendra Pradhan/Twitter)