The Hindu : National : Pratibha Patil visits Ramanathasamy temple

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Monday, Dec 29, 2008
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Pratibha Patil visits Ramanathasamy temple

Special Correspondent

She spent nearly two hours at the temple, which is one of the twelve jothirlingas

RAMESWARAM: Amid unprecedented security, President Pratibha Patil visited Ramanathasamy temple here on Sunday.

She was accorded a traditional welcome with “poorana kumba mariyathai” in front of the eastern tower of the temple, considered as one of the holiest Saiva temples in the country.

Accompanied by her husband Devi Singh Shekhawat and her family members, she offered prayers at the main deity. Holy water collected from 22 theerthams of the temple was sprinkled on her and others.

Special pujas were performed on her behalf. Temple priests narrated the history of the temple. She also had a darshan at Parvathavarthini Amman Sannathi.

Later, the President visited the third corridor, one of the largest corridors in the world, and enquired about its structure and architecture. Mrs. Patil noted in the visitor’s book that she and her family members were immensely happy to visit one of the twelve jothirlingas in the country. She had spent nearly two hours at the temple.

Earlier, Minister for Slum Clearance Board S. Thangavelan and district Collector R. Kirlosh Kumar received the President at the Naval Air Station in Uchipuli near Ramanathapuram.

As a precautionary measure, the Navy and the Coast Guard vessels, including helicopter carriers, patrolled the seas of the Palk Strait, the Gulf of Mannar and fringe areas of the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).

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