Special prayers at Himalayan temples on Modi's birthday

Special prayers were offered at Uttarakhands famous Himalayan temples on Prime Minister Narendra Modis 71st birthday on Friday, while Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union minister Pralhad Joshi participated in tree plantation and sanitation drives to mark the occasion.Special prayers were offered Friday morning in the name of the prime minister at Badrinath, Kedarnath and Gangotri temples.

Special prayers were offered at Uttarakhand's famous Himalayan temples on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 71st birthday on Friday, while Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union minister Pralhad Joshi participated in tree plantation and sanitation drives to mark the occasion.

Special prayers were offered Friday morning in the name of the prime minister at Badrinath, Kedarnath and Gangotri temples. A man from Delhi made an offering of Rs 4,300 in Badrinath on the occasion of the PM's birthday, Bhuvan Uniyal under whose supervision the puja was performed at the shrine said.

CM Dhami virtually participated in the puja performed in Kedarnath and Gangotri and prayed for Modi's long life.

BJP's central spokesman R P Singh offered 'Ardaas' (prayer) at a gurdwara in Race Course on the occasion. Dhami along with his cabinet colleague Dhan Singh Rawat, Dehradun Mayor Sunil Uniyal Gama and MLA Khajan Das planted trees at his official residence here to mark the occasion being celebrated as 'Seva Samarpan Diwas'.

Dhami said Modi had given the country a distinct identity in the world because of his style of functioning.

''The country is progressing on all fronts under his strong willed leadership,'' he said.

The development of Uttarakhand has also assumed new dimensions under his leadership. Kedarnath is being redeveloped into a world class religious destination while work is also underway on Badrinath reconstruction projects, the CM said. Accompanied by Union minister and BJP's election in-charge for Uttarakhand Pralhad Joshi, co-incharges R P Singh and Locket Chatterjee, Dhami also participated in a sanitation programme here apart from distributing fruits among patients at the Coronation Hospital.

The CM also visited a vaccination programme at Shatabdi Hospital where Union Minister of State for Defence and Tourism Ajay Bhatt and several MLAs were present. PTI ALM SRY