Prime Minister Narendra Modi today offered prayers at the Kedarnath Shiva temple and unveiled a 12-foot statue of Adi Guru Shankaracharya. The statue weighing 35 tonnes is placed at the seer’s reconstructed samadhi near the temple. The reconstruction work of the Samadhi and the statue had begun in 2019. Adi Guru Shankaracharya, the 8th-century seer, had attained Moksha at Kedarnath. Unveiling of the statue was streamed live at the 12 jyotirlingas, four Shankaracharya mutts (monasteries), Adi Guru Shankaracharya’s birthplace and several prominent temples across the country. This is PM Modi’s fifth visit to the temple in the last seven years.

The prime minister also inaugurate and laid the foundation stone of Kedarpuri reconstruction projects worth over Rs 400 crore at the Himalayan temple.

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PM Modi laid the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth over Rs 180 crore. It includes the Redevelopment of Sangam Ghat, Mandakini Aasthapath Queue Management, Administration Office and Hospital, two Guest Houses, First Aid and Tourist Facilitation Centre, Police Station, Command and Control Centre and Rainshelter and Saraswati Civic Amenity Building.

PM Modi also addressed people on the occasion. He said that these development projects will ease the life of devotees and ensure hassle-free pilgrimage. “The damage done here years ago was unimaginable. People who used to come here used to think that will this our Kedar Dham stand up again? But my inner voice was saying that it will stand with more pride than before,” said PM Modi while thanking the Uttarakhand government and people involved in the construction work.

Modi arrived at the Dehradun airport in the morning and was received by Uttarakhand Governor Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (retd), Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and his cabinet colleagues Subodh Uniyal and Ganesh Joshi, besides Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Premchand Aggarwal.