Thrissur (Kerala) [India], July 7 (ANI): Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar's scheduled visit to the Guruvayur Temple in Kerala's Thrissur was cancelled on Monday due to inclement weather, officials said.

According to communication from the Kerala Public Relations Department (PRD), the Vice President's helicopter, which was en route to the Sree Krishna College helipad, was forced to return to Kochi because of heavy rain and adverse weather conditions.

Following the cancellation, the Vice President is now expected to depart for New Delhi at 12.35 pm today, the statement added.

The Met Centre Kerala has issued a yellow alert for all districts of Kerala. As of the latest prediction valid till 1 pm, Thrissur will witness moderate rain today.

The India Meteorological Department on Sunday said that strong surface winds (speed reaching 40-50 kmph) is very likely to prevail over South Peninsular India during next 5 days.

It added that light to moderate rainfall at many or some places over Kerala and Mahe, Lakshadweep, Karnataka, Telangana; isolated to scattered rainfall accompanied with isolated thunderstorm, lightning over Coastal Andhra Pradesh & Yanam, Telangana and Rayalaseema likely to occur during next 7 days.

Vice President Dhankhar arrived in Kochi on Sunday for a two-day visit to Kerala. He was received at the Cochin International Airport by Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and State Industries Minister P Rajeev. He is accompanied by his wife, Sudesh Dhankhar, on this official tour.

Earlier, the Vice President's Secretariat had stated that Dhankhar would offer prayers at the Guruvayur Temple during his visit and interact with students and faculty at the National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS), Kochi.

Earlier last week, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar addressed a public gathering at 'Sneh Milan Samaroh' in Jaipur and highlighted that national interest should be above party politics.

At the 'Sneh Milan Samaroh,' the Vice President said, 'When we travel abroad, there is no ruling or opposition party; we only represent Bharat, and this has now been demonstrated. This step shows that for us, the nation is supreme. National interest is our duty, Bharatiyata is our pride.'

'Whenever India is the topic, we do not stand divided. Political differences exist within the country, but there are no personal animosities. This is a powerful message that everyone must understand,' he said. (ANI)