TBM Staff - Mumbai Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kedarnath and Badrinath in Uttarakhand on October 21 to lay the foundation stone of connectivity projects worth more than INR 3,400 crores. The projects will be aimed to give a boost to connectivity and religious tourism in the region.
“Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will visit Uttarakhand on 21st October 2022. In Kedarnath, at around 8:30 AM, he will perform darshan and pooja at Shri Kedarnath Temple. At around 9 AM, Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of the Kedarnath Ropeway Project. After that, he will visit the Adi Guru Shankaracharya Samadhi Sthal. At around 9:25 AM, Prime Minister will review the progress of development works along Mandakini Asthapath and Saraswati Asthapath,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
He will then join the prayers at Badrinath temple and will review the progress of the development work of the riverfront, followed by laying the foundation stone of road and ropeway projects at Mana village.
“The ropeway in Kedarnath will be around 9.7 Km long and will connect Gaurikund to Kedarnath, reducing the travel time between the two places from 6-7 hours at present, to only about 30 mins. The Hemkund ropeway will connect Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib. It will be around 12.4 Km long and will reduce the travel time from more than a day to only about 45 mins. This ropeway will also connect Ghangaria, which is the gateway to Valley of Flowers National Park,” the statement added.
The ropeway project will be developed at a cost of INR 2430 crore and will provide travellers with an environmentally-friendly mode of transport, which is also safe, secure, and stable. This major infrastructure development is aimed at boosting religious tourism, which will further boost economic development in the region and lead to the creation of numerous job opportunities.
“Foundation stone of road widening projects worth around INR 1,000 crore will also be laid during the visit. The two road widening projects – from Mana to Mana Pass (NH07) and from Joshimath to Malari (NH107B) – shall be another step towards providing the last mile all-weather road connectivity to our border areas. Apart from boosting connectivity, these projects will also prove beneficial from a strategic point of view as well,” the PMO release said.
The news of the Prime Minister’s visit to Kedarnath came, as a helicopter carrying pilgrims from Guptkashi to Kedarnath crashed on Tuesday killing seven people on board. The teams from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will be looking into the helicopter crash. (Source: Mint)
