Prime Minister Narendra ModiSomnath, who is on a two-day visit to Gujarat, on Friday chaired a meeting of the Shree Somnath Trust as the chairman of the body that manages the world famous Somnath temple in the state and reviewed the progress of its ongoing development works. ,
In a meeting held at Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar in the evening, the trustees approved the ambitious project to cover the ‘Shikhar’ or the summit of the Somnath temple with gold, an official said.
Union Home Minister and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah also reached the Raj Bhavan House in Gandhinagar on Friday night to attend the meeting.
A statement issued by the office of Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat said, “To attend the Somnath Trust meeting conducted by PM Modi, Amit Shah reached Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar where he was received by Governor Acharya Devvrat.”
Modi was appointed the chairman of the trust in January 2021 after the death of former Gujarat CM Keshubhai Patel.
Other trustees include veterans BJP Leader LK Advani, Gujarat scholar JD Parmar, former Gujarat bureaucrat PK Lahiri and businessman Harshvardhan Nevatia.
The trustee-secretary said that apart from reviewing the progress of the ongoing development works by the trust, the PM and other trustees approved an ambitious project of gold covering the shikhara or shikhara of the temple in Gir Somnath district. Laheri after the meeting.
“During the meeting there was a detailed discussion among the trustees regarding some upcoming projects. We have already completed the work of covering the sanctum sanctorum with gold. Like the Ambaji temple (located in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district), the trust has now decided to completely cover the shikhara (shikhar) of the Somnath temple with gold.
He said the Prime Minister, Shah, Laheri, Parmar and Nevatia were present at the meeting at the Raj Bhavan, while Advani participated in the proceedings through video conferencing.
Meanwhile, Shah will attend the first convocation of National Defense University at Dahegam in Gandhinagar along with PM Modi and CM Bhupendra Patel on Saturday.
(with PTI inputs)