Friday, 25 April 2025
Friday, 25 April 2025
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday offered prayers at Mukhwa temple -- the winter abode of Goddess Ganga in Uttarkashi district -- amid chanting of Vedic hymns by the priests.
The locals, dressed in traditional attire, accorded a warm welcome to the prime minister through a dance performance circling him as Modi stood in the middle with folded hands.
Modi's visit to the temple, his first as prime minister, is expected to boost winter pilgrimage and tourism in Uttarakhand. Modi said he feels blessed to visit Goddess Ganga's winter abode in Mukhwa. "I think Maa Ganga has adopted me. It is her blessings that took me to Kashi and gave me an opportunity to serve the people," he said.
He also expressed grief at the death of eight workers in the recent avalanche at a Border Roads Organisation camp in Chamoli district's Mana village.
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami extended a warm welcome to the prime minister in a post on X. "A hearty welcome and greetings to the prime minister on his visit to Devbhoomi Uttarakhand, the sacred land of religion, spiritualism and sacrifice. Residents of the state are excited to receive the prime minister in Mukhwa-Harsil, a land full of spiritual and natural beauty," he said.
Making a strong pitch for round the year tourism in Uttarakhand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said there should be no off-season in the picturesque hill state and this would strengthen the state's economy in a big way.
Addressing a rally in Harsil after offering prayers at the village of Mukhwa, the prime minister said visitors will get the true flavour of Uttarakhand if they come to the state in the winter.
Some villages were evacuated during the 1962 war with China and efforts are being made to rehabilitate them, the prime minister said.
He also referred to the two ropeway projects approved by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday -- Sonprayag to Kedarnath and Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib Ji -- and said they would reduce travel time to 30 minutes.
The prime minister flagged off a trek and bike journey to the predominantly tribal village of Jadung from Harshil and said it is to help the border areas of Uttarakhand reap the benefits of tourism.
Modi appealed to people to make Uttarakhand their destination for weddings and asked filmmakers to shoot their movies in the hill state which has been awarded for being the most film-friendly. Content creators and social media influencers should make short films on winter tourism destinations in Uttarakhand and the best works should be awarded, the prime minister said, adding it will go a long way in promoting winter tourism in the state.
