Puri, August 29: Amid an official visit to Odisha, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday toured to the shrine city Puri to have a darshan of Lord Jagannath and other deities, presiding in the 12-century Kshetra.
Birla offered obeisance to the Trinity after going around the temple, accompanied by scores of BJD leaderships.Meanwhile, Chief Administrator, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Arabinda Padhee, Puri District Collector Dibya Jyoti Parida and Superintendent of Police (SP) Prateek Singh welcomed Birla and his family members at the Singhadwara (Lions Gate) of the Puri Jagannath Temple.
Later, Birla accompanied by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Puri MP Sambit Patra, Odisha Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water Minister Rabi Narayan Naik and MP Subhashish Khuntia stepped into the sanctum and sanctorum of the Shree Jagannath Temple, Maa Bimala Temple and Maha Laxmi Temple wherein he offered prayers to Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra along with other deities.
Before exiting the spiritual realms, Birla meditated for a while sitting on the pious ‘Baishi Pahacha’ sorrounded by scores of BJP leaders and fellows.
Following this, the Speaker left for Odisha’s Capital City Bhubaneswar to inaugurate an SC/ST convention.
