PM Narendra Modi to visit Kedarnath Temple today, inaugurate infra projects worth Rs 130 crore in Uttarakhand

PM Narendra Modi will visit Kedarnath Temple on Friday and offer prayers at the temple. Prime Minister will also inaugurate the reconstructed samadhi of Adi Shankaracharya and unveil a statue of the seer at the temple premises.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Kedarnath Temple on Friday (November 5, 2021). PM Modi will reach the hill state on Friday morning to offer prayer at the temple and inaugurate the reconstructed samadhi of Adi Shankaracharya. 

The prime minister will also unveil a statue of the seer at the temple premises and review the ongoing construction works.

The Samadhi of Adi Shankaracharya has been reconstructed after its destruction in the 2013 Uttarakhand floods. 

Bagish Ling, a priest of Kedarnath Temple, in an interview with ANI said, "We will all welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PM Modi will reach here in the morning. He will do the Maha Rudra Abhishek and pray for the welfare of the nation. He will also unveil the statue of Adi Shankaracharya. The temple has been decorated with flowers."

PM Narendra Modi will reach Uttarakhand at 6.30 am on November 5, said Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday.

Taking to Twitter, Dhami said, "The Samadhi site of Adi Guru Shankaracharya has been completed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate it tomorrow. Along with this, Saraswati Ghat, the residence of the pilgrimage priests, has also been ready, which will be dedicated tomorrow. PM will reach here at 6:30 am."

This will be PM Modi's second visit to the temple during his term; the last time he visited the Kedarnath temple was in 2019.

Following this, Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate key infrastructure projects worth Rs 130 crores, including Saraswati Retaining Wall Aasthapath and Ghats, Mandakini Retaining Wall Aasthapath, Tirth Purohit Houses and Garud Chatti bridge on river Mandakini. 

PM Modi will also lay the foundation stone for multiple projects in the hill state and address a public rally during his visit to the shrine. 

Meanwhile, ahead of PM Modi`s visit to Uttarakhand and on the occasion of Diwali, the Kedarnath Temple was illuminated with colourful lighting on Thursday evening and the `Aarti` was performed at Kedarnath Temple. Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Dr. S S Sandhu visited the Shri Kedar Nath Dham site to review preparations today. He took stock of the ongoing reconstruction works in the Dham and gave necessary directions to the subordinate officers to finalise the preparations.

On Diwali, PM Modi met soldiers at the Nowshera sector in the border district of Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir and lauded the role played by the brigade there in surgical strikes. India had conducted surgical strikes on September 29, 2016, across the Line of Control as a response to a terrorist attack on an Army base in the Uri sector.

PM Modi also distributed sweets among army soldiers on the occasion of Diwali and interacted with them. The Prime Minister also honoured and interacted with Army veterans at Nowshera in Jammu and Kashmir. While addressing the soldiers, he lauded them for their effort in protecting the Indian borders and said that they are the "suraksha kawach" (armour) of the nation. Earlier in the day, he paid tribute to soldiers who lost their lives in the line of duty.

On the other hand, many world leaders also extended greetings on the occasion of Diwali. Prime Minister of Israel Naftali Bennett wished his "friend" and Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Diwali. "Happy Diwali to my friend Narendra Modi and to all the people celebrating in India and around the world," he said in a tweet. 

US President Joe Biden also extended greetings to people celebrating the festivals of Diwali all around the world. "May the light of Diwali remind us that from the darkness there is knowledge, wisdom, and truth. From division, unity. From despair, hope," Biden said in a tweet.

"To Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists celebrating in America and around the world - from the People's House to yours, Happy Diwali," the tweet added.