Sri Lankan PM Wickremesinghe offers prayers at Kollur temple
The Lankan Prime Minister, his wife and others arrived at the Mangaluru airport.
Udupi: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his wife Maitree offered prayers at the Kollur Sri Mookambika temple on Friday.
The Lankan Prime Minister, his wife and others arrived at the Mangaluru airport. Their schedule to take a chopper from the airport to the Areshiroor helipad near Kollur was dropped due to bad weather.
The entourage had to reach the temple by road.
Security was beefed up along the entire stretch of the journey and around the temple town following the recent bomb blasts in Sri Lanka. Excepting the select archaks, members of the temple committee and temple staff others were denied entry into the temple.
Mr Wickremesinghe and his wife arrived were given a grand welcome by the temple authorities, Udupi deputy commissioner and superintendent of police.
Mr Wickremesinghe and his wife offered prayers to Goddess Mookambika and then headed to offer Poornahuthi at the Nava Chandika Yaga that was being held at the temple's Yaga Shala.
The rituals of the Yaga had started on Thursday and were completed on Friday.
Temple Management Committee member Jayaram Shetty said that the Sri Lankan Prime Minister had offered Nava Chandika Yaga for the people of Sri Lanka and his family.
Mr Wickremesinghe visited the famous temple last time on November 21, 2017.