Preparations are in full swing ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kedarnath and Badrinath to lay the foundation stone of a few roads and the Hemkund Sahib ropeway on Friday.
PM Modi will visit Kedarnath tomorrow to review and initiate various developmental projects.
Ganga Dhar Linga, head priest of Badrinath-Kedarnath Mandir Samiti, said, "The preparation is in full swing here at Kedarnath ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit. PM Modi will offer prayers at Kedarnath on Friday morning. The Prime minister will lay the foundation stone of various development projects here."
He further said that tourism has increased since the 2013 landslides and flash floods disaster.
"After the disaster, there was a substantial increase in pilgrims. Recently, around 15 lakh people visited the Kedarnath Dham. Due to the construction of roads, it will be very easy for devotees to ascent towards the shrine and descend back," he said.
He said that after the development and widening of roads more people will visit the shrine.
"For almost two years, the temple was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But after the temple opened, the number of visitors has increased," he added.
District Magistrate of Rudraprayag Mayur Dixit said PM Modi will review the various development work.
"PM Modi will offer prayers at the Kedarnath Dham tomorrow. After that, he will review various development work like Mandakini Asthapath, Saraswati Asthapath, and others. He will also interact with the construction workers here. The preparations are in full swing and there is a lot of enthusiasm among the people. They are very eager to welcome PM Modi," he said.
According to the PMO, PM Modi will perform darshan and pooja at the Kedarnath Temple at around 8:30 am tomorrow.
At around 9 am, he will lay the foundation stone of the Kedarnath Ropeway Project. After that, he will visit the Adi Guru Shankaracharya Samadhi Sthal and at around 9:25 am, he will review the progress of development works along Mandakini Asthapath and Saraswati Asthapath.
Thereafter, at around 11:30 am, he will perform darshan and pooja at the Shri Badrinath Temple.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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