Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Uttarakhand on Friday during which he will perform 'puja' at Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines and lay the foundation stone of connectivity projects worth more than ₹3,400 crore.
Around 8:30am, the PM will perform 'darshan' and 'puja' at Kedarnath temple, following which he will lay the foundation stone of the Kedarnath Ropeway Project, a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.
He will visit the Adi Guru Shankaracharya Samadhi Sthal and review the progress of development works along Mandakini Asthapath and Saraswati Asthapath. Modi will then leave for Badrinath temple where he will perform 'darshan' and 'puja'.
Modi will also review the progress of development work of the river front, followed by laying the foundation stone of road and ropeway projects at Mana village. Around 2pm, he will review the progress of development work of arrival plaza and lakes, the PMO statement said.
A PTI report said the 9.7km-long ropeway in Kedarnath will connect Gaurikund to Kedarnath and reduce the travel time between the two places from six-seven hours at present to about 30 minutes.
The Hemkund ropeway will connect Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib. It will be around 12.4 Km long and will reduce travel time from more than a day to only about 45 minutes. This ropeway will also connect Ghangaria, which is the gateway to Valley of Flowers National Park.
{{/usCountry}}The Hemkund ropeway will connect Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib. It will be around 12.4 Km long and will reduce travel time from more than a day to only about 45 minutes. This ropeway will also connect Ghangaria, which is the gateway to Valley of Flowers National Park.
{{/usCountry}}The ropeways, to be developed at a cumulative cost of around ₹2,430 crore, are an environmental-friendly mode of transport that will provide safe, secure and stable mode of transport, the statement said.
This major infrastructure development will give a boost to religious tourism, which will give a fillip to the economic development in the region and lead to creation of multiple employment opportunities, it said.
Foundation stone of road widening projects worth about ₹1,000 crore will also be laid during the prime minister's visit, the statement said.
The two road widening projects - from Mana to Mana Pass (NH-07) and from Joshimath to Malari (NH-107B) - shall be another step towards providing last mile all weather road connectivity to our border areas, it said.
(With inputs from agencies)