Ahmedabad: Gujarat Government today mooted a
plan for holistic development of Somnath Temple located in
Junagadh district and putting the famous shrine prominently on
the world tourism map.
The Somnath Temple Tourist Township Development plan was
proposed by Chief Minister Narendra Modi during the 107th
meeting of the temple trust here.
This was the first meeting attended by Modi after
becoming a member of the trust in December last year.
Senior BJP leader L K Advani, a trustee, also attended
the meeting, which was held under the chairmanship of former
Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel.
After the meet, Advani, Modi and Minister of State for
Home Amit Shah had a separate meeting to discuss various party
related issues and the ongoing state-wide agitation against
fuel price hike, BJP sources said.
Somnath Temple represents the spiritual and cultural
heritage of Gujarat and it needs to be preserved, a government
release quoted Modi as saying.
"Like Jagannath Puri (in Orissa) and Kanyakumari (in
Tamil Nadu), which have international acclaim, we need to
develop Somnath in such a way that it too becomes world
famous," he said.
The plan included development of the temple premises, the
Ratnakar beach, where it is situated, and other
infrastructural projects, Modi said.
PTI
