In Kedarnath, PM predicts an end to migration from hills

Dehradun/ Kedarnath: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday predicted a decade of development for Uttarakhand and an end to migration from the hills, as he inaugurated a rebuilt samadhi of Adi Shankaracharya in Kedarnath.

Addressing a gathering of priests and devotees, he said the redevelopment of centres of faith in India shows the country's growing pride in its ancient saints and philosophers like Adi Guru Shankaracharya and Swami Vivekananda.

A grand Ram temple is being built in Ayodhya to restore its glory after centuries while the work on the Vishwanath Dham project in Kashi is nearing completion, the prime minister said.

Modi also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of reconstruction projects worth over Rs 400 crore at Kedarnath in Uttarakhand where the Assembly elections are just a few months away.

Mentioning the under-construction Chardham all-weather road and the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail link projects, he said the pace at which infrastructure projects are being carried out in Uttarakhand more pilgrims will visit the state over the next 10 years than in the last 100 years.

"The third decade of the century belongs to Uttarakhand. Take it from me. I am saying this from a holy land," Modi said.

The growing network of homestays will create livelihood opportunities for locals at their homes and stop migration from the hills by the youth in search of employment, he said.

"I have reversed the old saying that 'Pahad ka Pani aur jawani kabhi pahad ke kam nahin aate' (hills never benefit from its water and youth)."

Describing Uttarakhand as a land of bravehearts who don't hesitate to lay down their lives to protect India's frontiers, the prime minister said the modernisation of the defence sector had boosted the morale of the forces and increased their valour.

"Problems related to the armed forces are being resolved on priority. I had the fortune of fulfilling their demand for One Rank One Pension which was pending for four decades," the prime minister said.

Modi, who began his visit to Kedarnath by offering prayers at the Himalayan temple, said visiting the place has always been an overwhelming experience for him.