PATHANAMTHITTA: The holy shrine of Sabarimala was cordoned off with high security on Wednesday following the Indian President’s historic pilgrimage to the temple. Indian President Droupadi Murmu climbed the holy 18 steps of Sabarimala with an Irumudi Kettu (sacred, two-compartment bundle carried on the head by devotees) and reached the sanctum sanctorum at 11.47 am on Wednesday.

After taking a dip in the sacred Pampa River, President Murmu took the Irumudi Kettu at the nearby Ganapathy temple. The president was accompanied by her son-in-law Ganesh Chandra Hembram, security officers Saurabh S. Nair and Vinay Mathur, to the specially prepared Gurkha vehicle. Six vehicles were in the entourage.

They started their travel from Pamba at 11.15 am. A security official with Irumudi Kettu got in f

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