Prez offer prayers to Lord Venkateswara

Tirumala, Sep 2: President Ram Nath Kovind along with his family members offered prayers to Lord Venkateswara here today. The President was given a ceremonious welcome with traditional honours by temple priests and TTD officials. Amid chanting of vedic hymns, he was taken to the sanctum sanctorum from the main entrance of the 2000-year old cash-rich shrine. Mr Kovind spent about half-an-hour in the temple premises, according to temple sources. After the worship, the President made an offering in the 'hundi' (offering box), the sources said. Later, the President was presented with a sacred silk cloth, holy water and 'laddu' prasadam by TTD Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal while the priests invoked divine blessings on the First Citizen at the Ranaganayaka Mandapam inside temple complex. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Governor E S L Narasimhan, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Ministers Kinjarapu Atchannaidu and N Amaranatha Reddy accompanied the President during the visit. UNI