Puri, Mar 28 : Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Saturday offered prayers at the Jagannath temple in Puri.
Talking to reporters later, General Dwivedi said he prayed for the well-being of the Indian Army, its personnel and their families.
“I feel very fortunate to have received the blessings of Lord Jagannath. My main objective was to seek blessings on behalf of the Indian Army and for the well-being of its personnel and their families. I am confident that the Indian Army will perform even better in the coming days with the Lord’s blessings,” he said.
Accompanied by his wife Sunita Dwivedi, he said he experienced a sense of sanctity and peace at the temple, where centuries-old traditions have been preserved.
“I will try to visit the temple every year,” he said.
General Dwivedi was received by the Puri district collector and the superintendent of police, who escorted him to the shrine. He spent around an hour at the temple. Army personnel had visited the premises ahead of his arrival.
The visit marked the second day of his three-day tour of Odisha, which began on Friday with a meeting with Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati at Lok Bhavan.
Later, the Army chief left for Gopalpur by a special aircraft, where he is scheduled to review training infrastructure at the Army Air Defence College and interact with officers and ex-servicemen.
He is also scheduled to participate in a live firing demonstration at the field firing range in Gopalpur, sources said.
The Army chief is scheduled to return to New Delhi on March 29.
