PM chairs meeting of Somnath temple trust

Ahmedabad:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day Gujarat visit, on Friday presided over a meeting of the Shree Somnath Trust in his capacity as the chairman of the body that manages the world famous Somnath Temple in the state and reviewed the progress of its ongoing development works.

At the meeting, which took place at the Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar in the evening, the trustees gave approval to an ambitious project of covering the 'shikhara' or the spire of the Somnath Temple in gold, an official said.

Modi was appointed the chairman of the trust in January 2021 after the demise of the incumbent, former Gujarat CM Keshubhai Patel.

Other trustees include veteran BJP leader LK Advani, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Gujarat-based scholar JD Parmar, former Gujarat bureaucrat PK Laheri and businessman Harshvardhan Neotia.

Apart from reviewing the progress of ongoing development works being carried out by the trust, the PM and other trustees gave approval to an ambitious project of covering the 'shikhara' or the spire of the temple in Gir Somnath district in gold, said Trustee-Secretary Laheri after the meeting.

"A detailed discussion was held among the trustees about some upcoming projects during the meeting. We have already finished the work of covering the sanctum sanctorum with gold.

Just like the Ambaji temple (located in Gujarat's Banaskantha district), the trust has now decided to cover the Somnath Temple's shikhara (spire) completely with gold" Laheri told PTI.

While PM, Shah, Laheri, Parmar and Neotia were present in the meeting at the Raj Bhavan, Advani participated in proceedings through video conference, he said. (PTI)