Uttarakhand: Modi to get traditional welcome today

PITHORAGARH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will begin his visit to Uttarakhand with a darshan of Adi Kailash peak, the abode of lord Shiva, at Jolingkong from where he will head to Gunji village. There he will meet locals and security personnel, officials here said on the basis of an itinerary released by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Cultural troupes from Uttarakhand’s Kumaon region will welcome the Prime Minister at several points of a renovated 6-km road decorated with murals and paintings as he travels from the Naini Saini airport to a public meeting venue here on Thursday.

The Prime Minister will then offer prayers to lord Shiva at the Jageshwar Dham and address a public meeting in Pithoragarh.

“The Prime Minister will gift various development projects to the region during his visit. It will give a new identity to the Adi Kailash tourism circuit,” Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a post on Facebook.

“We have invited cultural troupes from all corners of the Kumaon region to welcome the prime minister at several points of his drive from the airport to the meeting venue at the SS Waldia sports stadium in Pithoragarh,” organiser of the cultural programme C.S. Chauhan said.

According to the itinerary released by the PMO, the Prime Minister will reach Jolingkong at 8.30 am from Bareilly, and will offer prayers at Parvati Tal and seek the blessings of Lord Shiva at Adi Kailash.

He will also perform a puja at the Shiva-Parvati temple in Jolingkong and will be guided through it by local priests Virendra Kutiyal and Gopal Singh.

He will also be offered the waters of the holy Mansarovar lake brought by Nepalese traders, the patron of Rung Kalyan Sanstha Ashok Nabiyal said.