PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Guru Shankaracharya’s statue in Kedarnath

Kedarnath : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated 12-foot statue of Guru Shankaracharya at Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand. During the ceremony, he said India now "aims high".

"A grand Ram Temple is being constructed in Ayodhya. Recently, deepotsav was celebrated there. Work on the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project in Varanasi is also progressing rapidly… Now, the country aims high and also sets a time limit to achieve these aims," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

"There was a time when spirituality and religion were believed to be associated only with stereotypes. But, Indian philosophy talks about human welfare, sees life in a holistic manner. Adi Shankaracharya worked to make the society aware about this truth," PM Modi said during the event.

It must be noted that the older 12-foot long statue was washed away during the flood havoc at the temple site. PM Modi said, many said that the place will not be redeveloped but he knew the place will be developed in even better manner.

Dhami said the Shankaracharya statue has been made by a Mysore-based sculptor using chlorite schist – a rock popular for withstanding rain, sunshine and harsh weather. It has been constructed by digging land behind the Kedarnath Temple and in the middle of the samadhi area.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was received by Chief Minister Dhami at the Dehradun airport. From their they continued their journey in an Indian Air Force helicopter.

PM Modi also launched several other projects worth Rs 130 crores for the development of the place.