President Kovind worships at Rameswaram, visits Kalam memorial

Rameswaram: The President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday offered worship at the famous Sri Ramanathaswamy temple here in this pilgrim-island in Ramanathapuram district, which was followed by him paying homage to the former President Dr A.P.J .Abdul Kalam's at his memorial in Peikarumbu here.

In a whistle-stop tour of Ramanathapuram district, his first to this part of the country since he became President, Mr Kovind, who arrived at the Mandapam helipad near here from Madurai at 11-25 hours, straight drove to the Ramanathaswamy temple where he spent about 30 minutes. First to greet Mr Kovind was the State Governor, Mr. Banwarilal Purohit, alongside Union minister, Pon. Radhakrishnan and State ministers led by R. B. Udayakumar.

 

President moved by design for Kalam memorial

At the entrance to the temple, the President was accorded the traditional 'Poorna Kumbha' welcome by the Head priest of the Sri Ramanathaswamy temple. The President then had 'darshan' of the various deities one-by-one commencing from the Lord Anjaneya shrine. After being sprinkled with the water collected from all the 22 'Teerthams' (sacred wells) inside the temple complex, Mr. Kovind prayed at the main shrine of Lord Shiva and at the shrine of his consort, Goddess Parvathavarthini Ammal. A 'special Archana' was performed in his name at the Goddess' shrine, official sources said. The temple authorities also offered



him 'prasad' and honoured him with mementoes on the occasion.

After signing the 'Visitors Book' at the temple, the President drove to the government guest house where he rested for a while. Later around 2 pm, the President visited Dr Kalam's memorial and paid homage to the late President. After spending about 20 minutes at the place where Dr Kalam was interred, the President left for Mandapam to board his chopper for Madurai around 2-40 pm, enroute to Chennai, sources said.

At the Kalam memorial, the President was moved by its structure. In the visitors' book there, Kovind wrote, "It is a personal privilege and honour to be able to offer prayers and pay homage to my predecessor - a great scientist and son of the soil - at the National Memorial." He also described the memorial, built by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), as a 'major architectural and engineering marvel' and said it was a befitting tribute to Kalam.

The president also met the relatives of Kalam, including his nephew and grand-nephew, and enquired about the health of the former president's elder brother from them. During his visit, he also enquired about an auto-rickshaw driver, Shanmugham, who had taken him on a guided tour of the island town years ago, when Kovind was a Rajya Sabha MP.

Security had been tightened at all places in view of the President's visit.