President Pranab Mukherjee offered prayers at Sri Lakshminarasimha Swamy Temple at Yadagirigutta, one of the main pilgrim places in the newly formed Telangana state and located just 60 k.m. from Hyderabad.
The President accompanied by Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan landed at Vadaigudem helipad at 11.22 a.m. on Sunday where he was accorded grand reception by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. Half an hour before the arrival of the President, the Chief Minister also flew in from Hyderabad. Later, Mr. Mukherjee drove to Yadagirigutta hill shrine where he spent 15 minutes in Andal Nilayam before entering the temple.
A 16-member team of temple priests and veda pundits welcomed Mr. Mukherjee with Purnakumbham amid the chants of vedic hymns. The priests performed Asthotara Puja with 108 golden flowers. The president was presented temple prasadam and a memento.
The Governor and Chief Minister explained to the President, the development projects undertaken showing the new design of the temple. The Chief Minister said that the temple would be developed in 2,000 acres down the hill apart from totally redesigning the sanctum sanctorum.
Yadagirigutta Temple Development Authority Vice-chairman G. Kishan Rao and designer Ananda Sai elaborated on the new design of the temple to the President. The authorities told The Hindu that the President expressed happiness over the new design.
The President later came to Andal Nilayam where he took rest for 15 minutes before proceeding to helipad. Mr. Mukherjee, who is on his Southern sojourn, flew to Rashtrapati Nilayam in Bollaram in Hyderabad at 1.30 p.m. Endowments Minister, A. Indrakaran Reddy, Energy Minister, G. Jagadishwar Reddy and others were present.
