18-Jun-2022: PM inaugurates the redeveloped temple of Shree Kalika Mata at Pavagadh Hill
The Prime Minister inaugurated the redeveloped temple of Shree Kalika Mata at Pavagadh Hill. It is one of the oldest temples in the area and attracts pilgrims in large numbers. The redevelopment of the temple has been done in 2 phases. The inauguration of the first phase of redevelopment was done by the Prime Minister earlier this year in April. The foundation stone of the redevelopment of the second phase, which was inaugurated in today’s program, was laid by the Prime Minister in 2017. This includes expansion of the temple base and ‘parisar’ at three levels, installation of amenities like street lights, CCTV system etc.
The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude for his good fortune of being at the temple. He underlined the importance of the moment today when after 5 centuries and even 75 years after independence, ‘dhwaja’ sacred flag was hoisted on the temple. He said “Today, after centuries, the flag is once again hoisted on the top of the Pavagadh temple. This ‘Shikhar Dhwaj’ flag is not only a symbol of our faith and spirituality but this flag is also a symbol of the fact that centuries change, eras change, but the faith remains eternal.” He said that this redevelopment right before the upcoming ‘Gupt Navratri’ is an indication that ‘Shakti’ never dims or disappears.
Referring to Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Kashi Vishwanath Dham and Kedar Dham, the Prime Minister pointed out “Today the spiritual and cultural glory of India is being restored. Today New India is proudly living its ancient identity along with its modern aspirations.” Along with centres of faith new possibilities of our progress are emerging and this grand temple at Pavagadh is part of that journey, he said. He said that this temple also symbolizes Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas.
The Prime Minister recalled how Swami Vivekananda devoted himself to public service after getting Maa Kali’s briefings. He said that today he asked the goddess to give him strength to serve the people. Shri Modi prayed “Mother, bless me so that I continue to serve the people of the country as a servant of the people with more energy, sacrifice and dedication. Whatever strength I have, whatever virtues I have in my life, I should continue to dedicate it for the welfare of the mothers and sisters of the country.”
In the context of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Prime Minister said that Gujarat has made sterling contributions in the freedom struggle as well as in the development journey of the nation. Garvi Gujarat is synonymous with pride and glory of India, he said. He said that in the glorious tradition of Somnath temple; Panchmahal and Pavagadh have kept working for the pride in our heritage. He said that today, Maa Kali has blessed her devotees with the greatest gift by completing the redevelopment and hoisting the Dhwaja. In the restoration, the ancient essence of the temple was not touched, he said. The Prime Minister also noted the ease of access to the temple. “Earlier the journey to Pavagadh was so difficult that people used to say that at least once in life the mother should have darshan. Today, the increasing facilities here have made difficult darshan accessible”, he said. He asked the devotees to maintain discipline. “There is spirituality in Pavagadh, there is also history, nature, art and culture. Here on one side is the Shaktipeeth of Maa Mahakali, and on the other side there is also a heritage Jain temple. That is, Pavagadh has in a way been a center of universal harmony with the historical diversity of India”, the Prime Minister said. Referring to the various temples of Mata, the Prime Minister noted that Gujarat has a security ring of Mata’s blessings.
The Prime Minister noted that with development of places of faith new opportunities emerge for the region as tourism, employment and awareness about the art and craft of the region increases. Recalling that Panchmahal being the land of legendary music maestro Baiju Bawara, the Prime Minister said that wherever heritage and Culture gets strength art and talent too flourishes. The Prime Minister remembered that it was from Champaner ‘Jyotirgram’ scheme was launched in 2006.
16-May-2022: Prime Minister’s visit to Mayadevi Temple in Lumbini, Nepal
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited the Mayadevi Temple in Lumbini, Nepal on May 16, 2022 as the first stop of his one-day visit to Lumbini. Prime Minister was accompanied by the Prime Minister of Nepal Rt. Hon'ble Sher Bahadur Deuba and his spouse Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba.
The Leaders paid their respects at the Marker Stone inside the temple premises, which pinpoints the exact birth spot of Lord Buddha. They attended the pooja conducted as per Buddhist rituals.
The two Prime Ministers also lit lamps near the Ashoka Pillar located adjacent to the temple. The pillar, which was erected by Emperor Ashoka in 249 BC, bears the first epigraphic evidence of Lumbini being the birthplace of Lord Buddha. Thereafter, the two Prime Ministers watered the Bodhi tree sapling from Bodh Gaya which was gifted by PM Modi to Lumbini in 2014 and also signed the temple's visitor’s book.
13-May-2022: Scientists discover almost 35 million years old rare snake fossil from Ladakh Himalaya
Scientists have reported spotting of the fossil of a Madtsoiidae snake from the molasse deposits of Ladakh Himalaya for the first time indicating their prevalence in the subcontinent for much longer time than previously thought.
Madtsoiidae is an extinct group of medium-sized to gigantic snakes, firstly appeared during the late Cretaceous and mostly distributed in the Gondwanan landmasses, although, their Cenozoic record is extremely scarce. From the fossil record, the whole group disappeared in the mid-Paleogene across most Gondwanan continents except for Australia where it survived with its last known taxon Wonambi till late Pleistocene.
Dr. Ningthoujam Premjit Singh (corresponding author), Dr. Ramesh Kumar Sehgal, and Mr. Abhishek Pratap Singh from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, India in association with Dr. Rajeev Patnaik and Mr. Wasim Abass Wazir from Panjab University Chandigarh; Dr. Navin Kumar and Mr. Piyush Uniyal from Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, and Dr. Andrej Čerňanský of Comenius University Slovakia have reported for the first time a Madtsoiidae snake from the late Oligocene ( part of the Tertiary Period in the Cenozoic Era, and lasted from about 33.7 to 23.8 million years ago) of India or the molasse deposits of Ladakh Himalaya.
The occurrence of Madtsoiidae from the Oligocene of Ladakh indicates their continuity at least to the end of the Paleogene (geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period 66 million years ago). The research published in Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology shows that the members of this group were successful in this subcontinent for much longer time than previously thought. The global climatic shifts and the prominent biotic reorganization across the Eocene-Oligocene boundary (which correlates to the European Grande Coupure), did not cause the extinction of this important group of snakes in India.
The newly described specimen is housed in the repository of Wadia Institute, an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology.