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Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the redeveloped Kalika Mata temple atop the Pavagadh hill in the Panchmahal district of Gujarat on Saturday.
The Prime Minister hoisted the temple flag after performing pooja. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel was also present with the Prime Minister on the occasion. According to the Gujarat information department, "After the ascent of Pavagadh in the fifteenth century, the peak of the temple was dilapidated for the last five centuries. The summit has now been redesigned with a new look." "First, the foundation of a large campus was laid by widening the top of Pavagadh Hill, then ancillary facilities were erected on the first and second floor of the campus. The original sanctum has been kept intact and the entire temple has been rebuilt. The main temple and the open area have been widened. In the old temple of Mataji where there was a dargah in place of the "Shikhar". The dargah has been relocated in an amicable settlement and a new "Shikhar" has been constructed, on which the flagpole has been restored and the flag will be unfurled there," added the official statement.At present, the temple has a rest house, clean drinking water, new and well-equipped toilets and street lights for the convenience of the devotees. At the same time, large and well-arranged steps have been constructed in place of the old and rugged steps before the temple. 2200 steps from Manchi to Rope-way Upper Station and 500 steps from Upper Station to the temple through Dudhiya Lake have been renovated, added the statement. The renovation work of the temple has been completed by the trust at an estimated cost of Rs 12 crores, out of the estimated expenditure of Rs 125 crore for the development of the entire complex except for the temple. In the near future, there will be a large dining hall near "Yajnashala" Dudhiya lake and devotional facilities for overnight stay of tourists as well as two big lifts leading directly from Chhasia Lake to the temple. A circumnavigation path connecting Dudhiya and Chhasia lakes will be prepared in such a way that the entire complex of Mataji temple will be circumnavigated on Pavagadh mountain. A guest house and multi-level parking will be constructed near Manchi. Large-scale tree planting will be planned in the surrounding mountains in collaboration with the forest department. Earlier in the day, PM Modi met his mother Heeraben Modi at her residence in Gandhinagar on her 100th birthday. PM Modi washed his mother''s feet and sought her blessings. Taking to Twitter he said, "Took blessings of my mother today as she enters her 100th year." (ANI)
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