Dehradun: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday left for the national capital from Jolly Grant airport in Uttarakhand after his two-day long visit to the state.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami gifted PM Modi famous sweets from Almora and a cap with Brahma kamal flower embossed on it.
During his visit to the state, PM Modi pitched for the Vocal for Local initiative and appealed to people, especially tourists to spend their money on locally-made products.
In his address at a public event in Badrinath's Mana, the last village bordering China, PM Modi had said that every village located in the border areas will be now considered as the first village of India.
PM Modi also attended the 'Saras Mela' in Mana village and interacted with the local artisans and visited the stalls in the Mela.
On the occasion, Prime Minister Modi also laid the foundation stone for road widening projects worth around Rs 1,000 crore.
According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the two road widening projects - from Mana to Mana Pass (NH07) and from Joshimath to Malari (NH107B) - shall be another step towards providing last-mile all-weather road connectivity to our border areas. Apart from boosting connectivity, these projects will also prove beneficial from a strategic point of view as well.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after offering prayers to Lord Shiva in Badrinath, reviewed the progress of development work of the riverfront here.
Before arriving in Badrinath, PM Modi visited Kedarnath Dham in Rudraprayag and offered prayers donning a traditional pahadi outfit, Chola Dora, that was gifted to him by Himachali women during his tour to the state.
PM Modi arrived at Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun earlier in the day and was received by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Gurmeet Singh.
He later laid the foundation stone of the Kedarnath ropeway project and after that visited the Adi Guru Shankaracharya Samadhi Sthal and also reviewed the progress of development works along Mandakini Asthapath and Saraswati Asthapath.
PM Modi then interacted with the construction workers engaged in the Kedarnath Dham development project.
In Kedarnath, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for a ropeway project, which will be around 9.7 km long and will connect Gaurikund to Kedarnath, thus reducing the travel time between the two places from 6-7 hours at present to only about 30 minutes.
This ropeway is estimated to cost Rs 2,430 crore.
The Hemkund ropeway will connect Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib. It will be around 12.4 km long and will reduce the travel time from more than a day to only about 45 mins. This ropeway will also connect Ghangaria, which is the gateway to Valley of Flowers National Park, said the PMO statement.
The ropeways, which will be developed at a cumulative cost of around Rs 2,430 crore, are an environmentally friendly mode of transport that will provide a safe, secure and stable mode of transport. This major infrastructure development will give a boost to religious tourism, which will give a fillip to the economic development in the region and lead to the creation of multiple employment opportunities as well. PM Modi will now visit Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh on the eve of Diwali to celebrate the Deepotsav festival here. —ANI