President Ram Nath Kovind offered worship at Sri Dharbaranyeswarar Temple, popularly known as Sri Saneeswarar temple, in Tirunallar, on Tuesday morning.
The President, who arrived in a chopper at a helipad near the temple along with Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy and Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi at 10.40 a.m., was received by Agriculture Minister R. Kamalakannan and Karaikal District Collector Vikranth Raja.
The President drove down to the temple and spent over an hour at the temple, offering worship at the Saneeswarar and other sannidhis.
After the worship, the President boarded the chopper at 12.40 p.m. along with the Lt. Governor. Mr. Narayanasamy stayed back at Karaikal for official engagements.
A tight security blanket was thrown around a radius of two to three kilometres of the temple. Contingents of regular police, personnel from special police battalions and CISF jawans were conspicuous in their presence.
A sharp shower ahead of the landing time gave some anxious moments to the police. The rain subsided in time much to their relief.
Other pilgrims were not allowed inside the temple during the President’s visit for security reasons.