Pushkar Singh Dhami reviews preparations in Kedarnath ahead of Narendra Modi's visit on 5 November

Dehradun: Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday visited Kedarnath to review the preparations in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Himalayan temple on 5 November. Modi is scheduled to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of Kedarpuri reconstruction projects worth Rs 400 crore during his visit. The prime minister will inaugurate the rebuilt ‘samadhi’ of Adi Guru Shankaracharya besides unveiling a grand statue of the 8th century seer at the temple during his visit which will be telecast live. The samadhi of Adi guru Shankaracharya was damaged in the 2013 deluge at Kedarnath. Accompanied by Cabinet colleagues Harak Singh Rawat and Subodh Uniyal, Dhami took stock of all the projects underway at the temple. Dhami said that all preparations were complete, some minor things which remained would be completed by Wednesday evening. He added that the prime minister’s vision was to develop Devbhoomi as the world’s spiritual and cultural capital where people from across the globe gather for peace. Redevelopment of Kedarnath on such a large scale is a step towards implementing that vision, he said. He further said that it was a proud moment for them as the prime minister had done things in Kedarnath which no one even thought of for hundreds of years. He added that Modi’s faith in Baba Kedar was absolute. Dhami’s visit to the Himalayan temple along with his Cabinet colleagues is also being seen as an attempt to pacify the teerth-purohits who have been aggressively demanding dissolution of the Chardham Devasthanam Board. They recently hooted and waved black flags to former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, during whose tenure the Devasthanam Board was created, forcing him to return from Kedarnath without having a darshan. Chardham teerth purohits feel that the board is an infringement of their traditional rights over the temples. When queried about whether the priests are unhappy, Dhami said there is no such thing. He said that their visit took place in a very cordial atmosphere and they (priests) were waiting to welcome the prime minister.