President Murmu offers prayers at Shiva temple, concludes Odisha visit

The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, went on a visit to the state of Odisha.

On the final day, Wednesday, she visited an old Shiva temple called Dhabaleswar in Golabandha.

She poured water over the holy Shiva symbol, a ceremony called 'Jalabhisek', and prayed for peace and happiness for the country.

Her visit to the temple was a surprise — it was arranged overnight, so priests and local people were surprised to see her.

She was only supposed to stay for ten minutes, but she stayed for nearly thirty minutes and meditated for five minutes.

The night before, she had slept at the Army Air Defence College in Golabandha.

She travelled back to Bhubaneswar in a special train because the weather office predicted very heavy monsoon rain.

During her three-day trip, she also opened the new Jagadguru Kripalu University in Cuttack and prayed at other holy places.

After reaching Bhubaneswar, she flew back to New Delhi in a special Indian Air Force plane.

Important leaders, including the Governor and Chief Minister of Odisha, came to the airport to say goodbye.