Uttarakhand CM Dhami performs Ganga aarti to mark Modi’s 25 years in public service

Uttarakhand CM Dhami and cabinet colleagues held Ganga prayers and attended the aarti at Har Ki Pauri, marking Narendra Modi’s 25 years as head of a government.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and his cabinet colleagues performed Ganga puja and attended the aarti at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar on Monday, marking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s completion of 25 years in public service as head of a government.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and his wife, Geeta Dhami, perform a ritual while offering prayers in Dehradun on Sunday.

Dhami prayed for Modi’s good health and long life, as well as prosperity and continued progress for the country and Uttarakhand. Modi took oath as Gujarat chief minister on October 7, 2001, and has since completed 25 years as head of a government, first in the state and later as prime minister, according to the state government.

The ceremony took place before a meeting of the Uttarakhand cabinet at the Mela Control Building on the banks of the Ganga in Haridwar. Dhami and ministers performed the rituals and offered prayers for public welfare and the country’s development.

The meeting in Haridwar is part of the state government’s initiative to hold cabinet meetings in different districts, with the stated aim of bringing governance closer to regional communities and giving greater attention to local development needs.

Before the Haridwar meeting, the cabinet had met at Banbasa in Champawat district. The government said such meetings in different parts of the state are intended to bring district-level concerns to the attention of the cabinet and speed up decisions on matters related to public interest.

The state government has presented the practice as a way to make governance more accessible beyond the state capital. Holding the meeting in Haridwar also placed the cabinet’s deliberations in a city associated with the Ganga and religious pilgrimage.

The programme combined a religious observance marking Modi’s public service milestone with a cabinet meeting focused on state administration. The government said taking meetings to different districts would help prioritise local requirements and development-related issues in policy discussions.