President Droupadi Murmu, a native of the state, stopped her convoy in Puri on her first two-day visit to Odisha after taking office in July and decided to walk the 2 km on Grand Road to the Jagannath shrine to offer prayers on Thursday.
The president instructed us to stop the convoy as a sign of devotion and made the decision to walk up to the temple for around 2 kilometres while facing the 12th-century shrine. As she made her way to the shrine, she waved at onlookers and talked to a few pupils, a senior Odisha police officer said.
Along with the President, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan visited the temple.
Murmu was given permission to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine to make prayers.
The temple was closed for devotees during the President’s visit.
Prasanta Patnaik