President Ram Nath Kovind offers prayers at Kedarnath, Badrinath shrines on first state visit to Uttarakhand

Dehradun: President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday offered prayers at the famous Himalayan shrines of Kedarnath and Badrinath in Uttarakhand.Accompanied by Governor KK Paul and Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, the president, his wife Savita and other family members arrived at Kedarnath in IAF choppers at around 8 am.[caption id="attachment_4077051" align="alignleft" width="380"]

File image of Ram Nath Kovind. PTI[/caption]They spent about half an hour at the shrine worshipping lord Shiva and performing a Rudrabhishek in its sanctum sanctorum, deputy chief executive officer of the temple committee Anil Sharma said.The president then left for Gauchar where he, his family and the dignitaries rested for a while at the ITBP guest house before setting out for Badrinath.Kovind spent only around twenty minutes at Badrinath to offer prayers before leaving for the Jollygrant airport from where he was scheduled to fly back to Delhi by an IAF plane.Before embarking on his journey to the Himalayan shrines, the president and his wife planted sandalwood saplings at the Raj Bhawan.The president and his family began their two-day visit to the state on Saturday with a worship of the Ganga at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar.It was the president's first visit to Uttarakhand after assuming office.