PM Modi addresses Namami Devi Narmade Mahotsav

Wednesday 18th September 2019 07:38 EDT
 
 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a huge public gathering in Kevadia, Gujarat. Marking his 69th birthday with a packed itinerary at his home state Gujarat, he expressed his happiness saying it was a pleasure to visit Namami Devi Narmade Mahotsav. At Sardar Sarovar dam, Modi thanked "millions of people" who had made the project "a success" and added that the project is catering to the needs of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan and has benefited people in these four states. He also lauded the project for being instrumental in curbing drought-like situations in Gujarat.

Modi made a strong pitch for eco-tourism at the site of the 'Statue of Unity'. PM Modi said he was happy to see the rising number of visitors to the complex he launched last year. "The 133-year-old Statue of Liberty gets around 10,000 visitors per day, about 8,500 people visit the 11-month-old Statue of Unity daily," he said. The Statue of Unity, billed as the tallest in the world, was inaugurated by the Prime Minister on Sardar Patel's birth anniversary on October 31 last year. Modi also praised Sardar Patel, whose 138-metre-high statue is on the banks of the river, saying that he continues to be a "symbol of willpower". "I believe that with his inspiration, we will prove every resolve associated with the new India, we will achieve every goal," he added.

While referring to his epochal decisions to end special status to Jammu and Kashmir and split the state into two union territories, PM Modi also said the Hyderabad Liberation Day, also observed on September 17 each year, was the result of Sardar Patel's vision. It marks the day in 1948 when the erstwhile Hyderabad state was annexed to the Indian Union.

Earlier, the Prime Minister offered prayers as part of the state government's Namami Devi Narmade Mahotsav celebrations being held to mark the dam receiving water to its full capacity. He also visited the Butterfly Garden in Kevadiya and named the saffron-coloured plain tiger butterfly as the state butterfly. Modi met his mother Heeraben at her residence in Gandhinagar after inaugurating the Mahotsav and sought her blessings on his birthday.


comments powered by Disqus



to the free, weekly Asian Voice email newsletter