Kalam prays at Leh monastery

JAMMU: Keeping his tryst with the frontier region of Ladakh, President A P J Abdul Kalam on Friday participated in ‘tsogs prayers’ in the historic Spithub Buddhist monastery and attended ‘gurbani’ in a gurudwara, besides interacting with villagers and children. On the second leg of his three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, Kalam arrived in Leh by special aircraft from Jammu despite inclement weather.
He was accompanied by state Governor S K Sinha and chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and was received at the airport by local ministers, members of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) and prominent monks.
People dressed in traditional Ladakhi robes lined the road as Kalam drove to the Circuit House. The entire town had been decorated to welcome the first citizen, official sources said from leh over phone.
Later Kalam visited Saboo village, seven kms from Leh, where he spent nearly 40 minutes with the villagers to experience the life style of Ladakhi people. He also played with the children, the sources said.
Here the President spoke about bringing good roads and Internet connection to the tiny village.