PM Modi lays foundation stone for Parvati temple in Somnath; inaugurates multiple other projects
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New Delhi, Aug 20: PM Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated several projects in Gujarat’s Somnath and laid the foundation stone for Parvati Temple, which is proposed to be constructed with a total outlay of ₹30 crore. PM Modi also inaugurated other projects including the Somnath Promenade, Somnath Exhibition Centre, and the reconstructed temple precinct of Old (Juna) Somnath virtually.
"We need to strengthen religious tourism," PM Modi said after the inauguration. He also praised the projects and said, "this will also provide employment to youth. They (youth) will also get knowledge about our past." Union home minister Amit Shah also joined the event virtually and Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani participated from Somnath. “The developments at the Somnath will attract tourists at the temple,” Amit Shah said.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Somnath Promenade has been developed under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme at a cost of over ₹47 crore. The reconstructed temple precinct of Old (Juna) Somnath, also referred to as Ahilyabai Temple, has been completed by Shree Somnath Trust with a total outlay of ₹3.5 crore.
This temple is also referred to as AhilyabaiTemple since it was built by Queen Ahilyabai of Indore, when she found that the old temple was in ruins. The entire old temple complex has been holistically redeveloped for the safety of pilgrims and with augmented capacity.
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Reflecting on the history of the revered temple, the Prime Minister recalled the repeated destruction of the temple and how the temple rose after every attack. "It is a symbol of the belief that truth can’t be defeated by falsehood and faith can’t be crushed by terror. The destructive powers, the thinking that tries to establish an empire on the basis of terror, may dominate temporarily, but, its existence is never permanent, it cannot suppress humanity for a long time. This was true when some attackers were demolishing Somnath, it is equally true even today, when the world is apprehensive of such ideologies.”, the PM Modi insisted.
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PM Modi said that in initiatives like Statue of Unity and transformation of Kachch, Gujarat has seen from the close quarters, the results of linking modernity with tourism. "It has been demand of every time period that we look for new possibilities in religious tourism and strengthen the links between pilgrimage and local economy” the Prime Minister pointed out.