PM Modi Arrives in Kerala, Will Offer Prayers at Shrines of Guruvayur Sri Krishna, Lord Venkateswara

Kochi/Tirupati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will offer prayers at the famous shrines of Sri Krishna at Guruvayur in Kerala and at Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh this week end, officials said Thursday.

On his first visit to the two southern states in his second term as prime minister, Modi will offer prayers at the Sri Krishna temple in Guruvayur on Saturday and pray at the Lord Venkateswara shrine Sunday.

An official release in Kochi said the Prime Minister will arrive at 11.35 pm Friday and stay at the Government Guest House there overnight. He will offer prayers at the Guruvayur temple on Saturday morning after reaching there by a special helicopter from the Naval Airport in Kochi. Modi will return to Kochi at 12.40 pm, it said.

A report from Tirupati said Modi, who is scheduled to visit Maldives and Sri Lanka beginning Saturday, would arrive at nearby Renigunta airport from Colombo on Sunday evening and proceed to the Tirumala Hills.

After offering special prayers, the prime minister would return to New Delhi late Sunday night, a temple official said quoting the tentative schedule as per an official communique.

A report from Amaravati said Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary L V Subrahmanyam reviewed arrangements for the Prime Ministers visit and directed the officials concerned to make foolproof measures.

The Chief Secretary spoke to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal and other officials through video conferencing and instructed them to make all arrangements for the visit of the prime minister, it said quoting an official release.

He also directed Additional Director General of Police Ravi Shankar Ayyanar to ensure elaborate security arrangements for the VVIPs trip. The temple official in Tirupati said security arrangements were being made at the airport, the route leading to the shrine and on the Tirumala Hills for Modi's visit.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and Governor ESL Narasimhan were expected to accompany Modi to the hill shrine, he said. This is Modi's maiden visit to the temple after becoming prime minister for the second time.

An ardent devotee of Lord Venkateswara, he had visited the shrine as the prime ministerial candidate in May 2014 and after winning the polls in October 2015 and January 2017.