13-Dec-2021: PM inaugurates Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi today. He prayed at the Kaal Bhairav Temple and Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Kashi. He also took a holy dip in river Ganga.
Starting his address with pranam at the feet of ‘Nagar Kotwal’ (Lord Kaal Bhairav), the Prime Minister said nothing special happens without his blessings . The Prime Minister sought the lord’s blessings for the countrymen. The Prime Minister cited Puranas which say that as soon as one enters Kashi, one becomes free from all bondage. “Blessings of Lord Vishweshwara, a supernatural energy awakens our inner soul as soon as we come here”. He added that this whole new complex of Vishwanath Dham is not just a grand building. This is a symbol of the Sanatan culture of our India. It is a symbol of our spiritual soul. This is a symbol of India's antiquity, traditions, India's energy and dynamism. The Prime Minister said ‘when one comes here, they will see not only faith but will also feel the glory of the past here. How antiquity and novelty come alive together. How the inspirations of the ancient are giving direction to the future, We are witnessing this very vividly in Vishwanath Dham complex’, he added.
The Prime Minister noted that earlier the temple area was only 3000 square feet which has now enlarged to about 5 lakh square feet. Now 50000 - 75000 devotees can visit the temple and temple premises. That is, first the darshan and bath in Maa Ganga, and from there directly to Vishwanath Dham, he informed.
Dwelling on the glory of Kashi, the Prime Minister said that Kashi is imperishable and is under the patronage of the Lord Shiva. He expressed his gratitude to every worker in the construction of this grand complex. They did not let even Corona stop the work here. He met and felicitated the workers. Shri Modi had his lunch with the workers who worked for the construction of the Dham. The Prime Minister also lauded the artisans, people associated with the construction, administration and those families who had their homes here. Along with all this, he also congratulated the UP government, Chief Minister Shri Yogi Adityanath, who toiled relentlessly to complete the Kashi Vishwanath Dham project.
The Prime Minister said the invaders attacked this city, tried to destroy it. The city is witness to the history of Aurangzeb's atrocities and his terror. Who tried to change civilization by the sword, Who tried to crush the culture with fanaticism. But the soil of this country is different from the rest of the world. If there is an Aurangzeb, said the Prime Minister, Shivaji is also there. If any Salar Masood comes, then brave warriors like King Suheldev make him taste the might of India’s unity. And even during the British era, the people of Kashi knew what happened to Hastings, said Shri Modi.
The Prime Minister went on describing the grace and importance of Kashi. He remarked that Kashi is not a matter of mere words, it is a creation of sensations. Kashi is that - where awakening is life; Kashi is that - where death is also a festival; Kashi is that - where truth is the culture; Kashi is where love is tradition. He added that Varanasi is the city from where Jagadguru Shankaracharya got inspiration from the purity of Shri Dome Raja and resolved to unite the country in the thread of unity. This is the place where Goswami Tulsidas created a celestial creation like Ramcharitmanas with inspiration from Lord Shankar. The Prime Minister continued and said that Lord Buddha’s enlightenment was revealed to the world in Sarnath, here. For the betterment of the society, sages like Kabirdas appeared here. If there was a need to unite the society, then this Kashi became the center of the power of devotion of Sant Raidas, the Prime Minister added .
The Prime Minister said Kashi is the land of four Jain Tirthankaras, the epitome of non-violence and austerity. From the integrity of King Harishchandra to the knowledge of Vallabhacharya, Ramanand ji. From Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Samarth Guru Ramdas to Swami Vivekananda, Madan Mohan Malaviya. The Holy land of Kashi has been home to sages, acharyas beyond count. The Prime Minister remarked that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj came here. From Rani Lakshmi Bai to Chandrashekhar Azad, Kashi has been the karmbhoomi of many fighters. Talents like Bharatendu Harishchandra, Jaishankar Prasad, Munshi Premchand, Pandit Ravi Shankar, and Bismillah Khan are from this great city, he said.
The Prime Minister said that dedication of Kashi Vishwanath Dham will give a decisive direction to India and will lead to a brighter future. This complex is a witness of our capability and our duty. With determination and concerted thought, nothing is impossible. The Prime Minister said “Indians have the power to make the unimaginable come true. We know tapasya, know penance and we know how to spend day and night for the country. No matter how big the challenge, we Indians can defeat it together”.
The Prime Minister said today's India is reviving its lost heritage. Here in Kashi, Mata Annapurna herself resides. He expressed happiness that the statue of Mother Annapurna, which was stolen from Kashi, has now been re-established in Kashi after a wait of a century.
The Prime Minister said for him, God comes in the form of people and for him every Indian is a part of God. He asked for three resolutions from the people for the country - cleanliness, creation and continuous efforts for self-reliant India.
The Prime Minister called cleanliness a way of life and called for people’s participation in this enterprise, especially in the Namami Gange Mission. The Prime Minister said the long period of slavery broke our confidence in such a way that we lost faith in our own creation. Today, from this thousand-year-old Kashi, I call upon every countryman - create with full confidence, innovate, do it in an innovative way.
The Prime Minister said that the third resolution that needs to be taken today is to raise our efforts for self-reliant India. In this ‘Amrit Kaal’, in the 75th year of independence, we will have to work for what India will be like when India celebrates a hundred years of independence, The Prime Minister Concluded .
5-Nov-2021: PM inaugurates Shri Adi Shankaracharya Samadhi and unveils the statue of Shri Adi Shankaracharya
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi laid foundation stones and dedicated to the Nation various development projects in Kedarnath. He inaugurated Shri Adi Shankaracharya Samadhi and unveiled the statue of Shri Adi Shankaracharya. He also reviewed and inspected the executed and ongoing infrastructure works. The Prime Minister also offered prayers at the Kedarnath Temple. Prayers were offered and celebrations held at 12 Jyotirlingas and 4 Dhams and many places of faith all over the country along with the event at Kedarnath Dham, all events were linked to the main event at Kedarnath Dham.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister evoked the great spiritual rishi tradition of India and expressed his indescribable joy on coming to Kedarnath Dham. Recalling his interaction with soldiers at Nowshera yesterday, he said yesterday, on Diwali, he took the feelings of 130 crore Indians to soldiers, today, on Govardhan Puja, he said that I was on the land of soldiers and in the divine presence of Baba Kedar. The Prime Minister quoted a verse from Ramcharitmanas- 'अबिगत अकथ अपार, नेति-नेति नित निगम कह' meaning some experiences are so supernatural, so infinite that they cannot be expressed in words. He said this is how he feels under the shelter of Baba Kedarnath.
The Prime Minister said that new facilities like shelters, facilitation centres will ease the lives of priests and devotees and allow them to fully immerse in the divine experience of the pilgrimage. Recalling the Kedarnath floods in 2013, the Prime Minister noted that damage caused by the floods years ago was unimaginable. He said “people who used to come here used to think that will this our Kedar Dham stand up again? But my inner voice was saying that it will stand with more pride than ever before.” The Prime Minister said due to the grace of Lord Kedar and inspiration of Adi Shankaracharya and his experience of managing the aftermath of the Bhuj Earthquake, he could be of help in those difficult times. He struck a personal note and said that it is a blessing that he could serve the place which nurtured him earlier in his life. He thanked all the workers, priests, Rawal families of the priests, officials and the Chief Minister for relentlessly pursuing the development works at the Dham. I said he kept monitoring the work through drones and other technologies. He said that “this combination of modernity with the eternal on this ancient land, these development works are the result of the natural grace of Lord Shankar.”
Talking about Adi Shankaracharya, Shri Modi said that the meaning of Shankar in Sanskrit is - "शं करोति सः शंकरः". That is, the one who does welfare is Shankar. This grammar was directly proven by Acharya Shankar. His life was as extraordinary as it was devoted to the welfare of the common man, he said. The Prime Minister recalled there was a time when spirituality and religion started getting linked with stereotypes and outdated practices. Whereas, Indian philosophy talks about human welfare and looks at life in a holistic way. Adi Shankaracharya did the work of making the society aware of this truth, he said.
The Prime Minister emphasized that today, our cultural heritage centers of faith are being viewed with deserved and valid pride, as they should be viewed. “A grand temple of Lord Shri Ram is coming up in Ayodhya. Ayodhya is getting its glory back. Just two days ago, the whole world saw the grand celebration of Deepotsav in Ayodhya. Today we can imagine how the ancient cultural form of India must have been”, Shri Modi said. The Prime Minister said that today’s India is confident about its heritage. “Today, India sets tough goals and deadlines for itself. Today, it is not acceptable for India to be timid about deadlines and goals”, the Prime Minister said. Talking about the contribution of heroes of the Freedom Struggle, the Prime Minister asked the countrymen to visit the places related to the glorious freedom struggle of India and pious places of pilgrimage and get acquainted with the spirit of India.
The Prime Minister said that the third decade of the 21st century belongs to Uttarakhand. He informed that work is going on at a fast pace on the Chardham road project, connecting with the Chardham highways. In future, the work has started so that devotees can come here to Kedarnath ji through cable car. There is also the holy Hemkund Sahib Ji nearby. Work is going on to build a ropeway to make the darshan in Hemkund Sahib ji easy. “Keeping in mind the immense potential and full faith in the capabilities of the people of Uttarakhand, the State government is involved in the ‘mahayagya’ of Uttarakhand’s development”, he said.
The Prime Minister lauded the discipline shown by Uttarakhand in the fight against Corona. Overcoming the geographical difficulties, today Uttarakhand and its people have achieved the target of 100 % single dose vaccination. This is the strength and power of Uttarakhand, he said. “Uttarakhand is situated at a very high elevation. My Uttarakhand will scale even greater heights than its own elevation”, The Prime Minister concluded.
Shri Adi Shankaracharya Samadhi has been reconstructed after the destruction in the 2013 floods. The entire reconstruction work has been undertaken under the guidance of the Prime Minister, who has constantly reviewed and monitored the progress of the project. Today also, the Prime Minister reviewed and inspected the executed and ongoing works along the Saraswati Aasthapath. Key infrastructure projects which have been completed, including Saraswati Retaining Wall Aasthapath and Ghats, Mandakini Retaining Wall Aasthapath, Tirth Purohit Houses and Garud Chatti bridge on river Mandakini. The projects have been completed at a cost of over Rs. 130 crore. He also laid the foundation stone for multiple projects worth over Rs 180 crore, including the Redevelopment of Sangam Ghat, First Aid and Tourist Facilitation Centre, Admin Office and Hospital, two Guest Houses, Police Station, Command & Control Centre, Mandakini Aasthapath Queue Management and Rain shelter and Saraswati Civic Amenity Building.
9-Mar-2021: Conservation of the Sun Temple at Konark
Several steps have been taken by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to mitigate the impact of saline action, water logging, erosion and vegetative intrusions such as cleaning of the surface by paper pulp method, consolidation and strengthening of stones wherever needed, plantation of trees in surrounding area to prevent mechanical erosion by wind action, removal of water by installing pumping sets, and periodic biocidal treatment for control of vegetative intrusion. Conservation work of monuments, including Sun Temple, Konark is a continuous process and the said monument, also a World Heritage Site, is in a good state of preservation due to regular care by ASI.
ASI has introduced plain stones only where original stones were missing or for filling of gaps to ensure structural stability and to prevent water ingress. All conservation work is carried out as per ASI’s conservation policy, 2014.
Annual Conservation Plan is regularly drawn by ASI every year, for review of the requirements at the monument for its appropriate preservation.
20-May-2020: Government of India launches scheme for 100 % solarisation of Konark sun temple & Konark town
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has taken up the Complete Solarisation of Konark sun temple and Konark town in Odisha. Speaking about the Scheme, Shri R K Singh, MoS(i/c) for Power and MNRE has said, "Government of India launched the Scheme with an objective to take forward the Prime Minister’s vision to develop the historical Sun temple town of Konark in Odisha as 'Surya Nagri', to convey a message of synergy between the modern use of solar energy and the ancient Sun Temple and the importance of promoting solar energy".
The Scheme envisages setting up of 10 MW grid connected solar project and various solar off-grid applications like solar trees, solar drinking water kiosks, off-grid solar power plants with battery storage etc. with a 100% Central Financial Assistance (CFA) support of around Rs. 25 Crores from Government of India through Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE). Implementation of this Project will be done by Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA).
The Scheme will meet all the energy requirements of Konark town with solar energy.
9-Mar-2021: Conservation of the Sun Temple at Konark
Several steps have been taken by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to mitigate the impact of saline action, water logging, erosion and vegetative intrusions such as cleaning of the surface by paper pulp method, consolidation and strengthening of stones wherever needed, plantation of trees in surrounding area to prevent mechanical erosion by wind action, removal of water by installing pumping sets, and periodic biocidal treatment for control of vegetative intrusion. Conservation work of monuments, including Sun Temple, Konark is a continuous process and the said monument, also a World Heritage Site, is in a good state of preservation due to regular care by ASI.
ASI has introduced plain stones only where original stones were missing or for filling of gaps to ensure structural stability and to prevent water ingress. All conservation work is carried out as per ASI’s conservation policy, 2014.
Annual Conservation Plan is regularly drawn by ASI every year, for review of the requirements at the monument for its appropriate preservation.
1-Apr-2018: World-Class Interpretation Centre and Tourist Amenities at Konark Sun Temple
Government has inaugurated the world-class Interpretation Centre and tourist facilities at Konark Sun Temple at Konark which coincides with Utkal Divas celebrations in Odisha.
The Indian Oil Foundation (IOF), a non-profit trust fully funded by Indian Oil Corporation, under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, funded the development of visitor-friendly infrastructure and associated facilities, including a state-of-the-art Interpretation Centre that showcases the unique architectural features of Konark Sun Temple.
The Konark Sun Temple is Odisha’s pride and it is important that the world is made aware of this architectural marvel, for which the Interpretation Centre is a step in that direction. Raghunath Mahapatra recreated the sculptural wealth of Konark sun Temple at the Interpretation Centre for the benefit of both national & International visitors. The modern amenities that have been developed at the temple complex would attract more tourists in future.
UNESCO is continuously working for the preservation of heritage monuments, like the Sun Temple at Konark, across the world. The Interpretation Centre will not only educate the tourists about the rich history of the temple but will also throw light on the natural and cultural heritage of Odisha.