Sri Lankan PM prays at Mookambika temple in Karnataka

Kollur(Karnataka) :Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday offered prayers at the Mookambika temple in Udupi district in Karnatka, an official said.

"Wickremesinghe, along with his wife (Maithree), arrived in Kollur in a helicopter at about 11 a.m. and visited the temple and performed a special puja," Udupi Deputy Commissioner Priyanka Mary Francis told IANS.

The Mookambika temple is estimated to be about 1,200 years old. Kollur is about 450 km from Bengaluru.

Wickremesinghe performed a 'purnahuti' ceremony and observed 'mangalarti' at the temple, Francis said. In view of Wickremesinghe's visit, temple authorities restricted public entry up to 1.30 p.m.