President visits Sabarimala, offers prayers

President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday offered prayers at the Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala, making her the first woman President of the country to worship at the famed hill temple.

The President arrived at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium Ground in Pramadom around 8.40 a.m. by a special helicopter. She was accorded a formal reception by Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan, Anto Antony, MP , K.U. Jeneesh Kumar and Pramod Narayanan, MLAs, District Collector S. Prem Krishnan, and District Police Chief R. Anand. From there, she travelled to Pampa in a specially arranged motorcade, where elaborate security and traditional arrangements had been made for her visit.

At Pampa, the President began her pilgrimage by washing her feet in the Pampa river, in line with Ayyappa devotees’ purification ritual. She then proceeded to the Pampa Ganapathi temple, where the Irumudi kettu, the twin sacred bundle carried by the devotees, was prepared and tied for her under the supervision of Melshanthi Vishnu Namboothiri.

Her ADC Saurabh S. Nair, PSO Vinay Mathur and son-in-law Ganesh Chandra Hombrom also participated in the ritual, following the same procedure observed by pilgrims before their ascent to the Sannidhanam. The President and her team then travelled in a special convoy of vehicles to Sabarimala Sannidhanam.

The hill temple and its surroundings were placed under unprecedented security cover, with the movement of other pilgrims prevented beyond the Nilakkal base camp during her visit period.

The President reached Sabarimala around 11.45 a.m. and, climbed the Pathinettam Padi (18 sacred steps) to reach the sanctum sanctorum. At the Sannidhanam, she was accorded a ceremonial reception with purna kumbh by Tantri Kandararu Mahesh Mohanaru. She offered prayers to Lord Ayyappa and the upadevatas (sub-deities), before visiting the Malikappuram Devi temple and the Vavar Swami shrine.

Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P.S. Prashanth, Revenue and Devaswom Secretary M.G. Rajamanickam, and Sabarimala Melshanthi S. Arunkumar Namboothiri were among those who received the President at the temple.

Following the Darshan, the President was presented with a wooden carving of Ayyappa, a traditional memento, on behalf of the Travancore Devaswom Board by Minister V.N. Vasavan. Board members A. Ajikumar and P.D. Santhosh Kumar were present.

Following lunch, the President rested briefly at the Devaswom Guest House before beginning her return journey. Around 12.15 p.m., she left the Sannidhanam for Pampa.

Around 4.15 p.m., President Murmu departed for Thiruvananthapuram from the Pramadom helipad. She was seen off by Minister Vasavan and MP Anto Antony, among others.

Chopper’s tyres sink

Earlier, the helicopter ferrying the President made a safe touchdown at the newly prepared helipad at Pramadom around 8.30 a.m. The chopper’s tyres, however, sank slightly into the freshly laid concrete soon after the President disembarked. The President, however, continued her journey to Pampa by road without any delay.

According to official sources, work on the helipad at the Pramadom Indoor Stadium had been completed only a few hours before the President’s helicopter arrived. Initially, the President was scheduled to land at Nilackal, but in consideration of the inclement weather conditions prevailing in the region, the plan was changed at the last minute. The stranded helicopter was later pushed out of the soft surface by the police and Fire and Rescue Services personnel.