Kedarnath: Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the statue of Shri Adi Shankaracharya and Samadhi at Kedarnath, Uttarakhand, on Friday. The Samadhi has been reconstructed after the destruction in the 2013 floods.

Addressing a public rally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "You all are witness to the inauguration of Adi Shankaracharya Samadhi here today. His devotees are present here in spirit. All maths and 'jyotirlingas' in the country are connected with us today".

"After the 2013 destruction, people used to think if Kedarnath could be redeveloped. But a voice within me always told me that Kedarnath will be redeveloped again".

The prime minister stated that he personally reviewed redevelopment works at Kedarnath from Delhi. "I reviewed the progress of different works being carried out here through drone footage. I want to thank all 'rawals' here for their guidance for these works".

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Talking about Adi Shankaracharya, Shri Modi said  that the meaning of Shankar in Sanskrit is - "शं करोति सः शंकरः". That is, the one who does welfare is Shankar. This grammar was directly proven by Acharya Shankar. His life was as extraordinary as it was  devoted to the welfare of the common man, he said. The Prime Minister recalled there was a time when spirituality and religion started getting linked with stereotypes and outdated practices. Whereas, Indian philosophy talks about human welfare and looks at life in a holistic way. Adi Shankaracharya did the work of making the society aware of this truth, he said.

"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".

Key infrastructure projects: 

Also, the prime minister inaugurated key infrastructure projects which have been completed, including Saraswati Retaining Wall Aasthapath and Ghats, Mandakini Retaining Wall Aasthapath, Tirth Purohit Houses and Garud Chatti bridge on river Mandakini. The projects have been completed at a cost of over Rs. 130 crore. After the natural disaster in Kedarnath in 2013, its reconstruction was started in 2014.