Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena arrived at the temple of Lord Venkateswara here on Saturday. He was accompanied by his wife Jayanthi Pushpakumari.
The President, who is on a two-day pilgrimage, will attend the ‘Suprabhata Seva’, a ritual performed inside the temple, in the early hours of Sunday.
Earlier, on his arrival at the Padmavati guest house, he was accorded a warm reception by TTD JEO K.S. Srinivasa Raju, CVSO Ake Ravi Krishna, Tirupati (Urban) SP Abhishek Mohanty and Sub-Collector Nishanth Kumar.
Contrary to reaching Tirumala along the Chennia–Tirupati highway, the President chose the Bangaluru-Tirupati route.
Highly-placed sources said the change in route was reportedly to avoid possible protests by the Tamil groups. Meanwhile, the Chittoor district as well as the Tirupati (Urban) police made tight security arrangements for the dignitary's visit.
Visits ‘Sri Vari Paadaalu’
Later, Mr. Sirisena and his wife paid an unscheduled visit to the ‘Sri Vari Paadaalu’, located at a distance of about 5 km.
Though there was no mention of it in the President’s itinerary, Mr. Sirisena suddenly decided to visit the mythological spot situated atop the Narayanagiri hills, which are considered the tallest among the seven hills that constitute the sacred town.
