PM Modi offered prayers at Shree Kalaram Mandir after the roadshow (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held a roadshow in Maharashtra's Nashik, where he offered prayers at Ramkund and performed pooja at Shree Kalaram Mandir. He also inaugurated the National Youth Festival.
Thousands of people thronged the roadshow route to welcome PM Modi. The nearly 35-minute-long roadshow concluded at Sant Janardan Swami Maharaj Chowk after covering more than 2 kilometers.
After the roadshow, PM Modi reached Ramkund, located on the bank of the Godavari river, where he was offered a traditional 'pagdi' (turban) by the Nashik Purohit Sangh president Satish Shukla.
PM Modi - accompanied by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar - visited the Shree Kalaram Mandir after the roadshow.
He also offered prayers at Shree Kalaram Mandir after the roadshow and was felicitated thereafter.
The Prime Minister performed 'Jal Pujan' and 'aarti' - a musical instrument - while several priests sang Ram Bhajan.
"At the Shree Kalaram Temple, I had the profound experience of hearing verses from the Bhavarth Ramayana written in Marathi by Sant Eknath Ji, eloquently narrating Prabhu Shri Ram's triumphant return to Ayodhya. This recitation, resonating with devotion and history, was a very special experience," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
He also performed rituals while offering prayers at Ramkund. The temple is also known for a protest launched by B R Ambedkar on March 2, 1930, to seek entry for Dalits into the shrine.
PM Cleans Temple
PM Modi also cleaned the premises of the Kalaram Temple as part of the 'Swachh Bharat Mission'. A video, going viral on social media, shows PM Modi mopping the floors of the temple aimed at giving a message of cleanliness to the masses.
PM Modi also inaugurated Atal Setu, India's longest sea bridge, in Mumbai. Atal Setu has been constructed at a total cost of more than ₹ 17,840 crore.
The sea bridge connects south Mumbai with the satellite city of Navi Mumbai. The six-lane trans-harbour bridge is 21.8 km long with a 16.5 km sea-link.
"Atal Setu is the reflection of Viksit Bharat which will see development of all, where distances will decrease," PM Modi said.
He laid the foundation stone of the project (then called Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL)) on December 24, 2016.
Everyone is marvelling at the Atal Setu, PM Modi said, adding that the amount of steel used in its construction would suffice to build four Howrah Bridges and six Statues of Liberty.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI)