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. Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah also arrived at the Rajbhavan house in Gandhinagar on Friday night to attend the meeting. “To participate in the meet of Somnath trust helmed by PM Modi, Amit Shah arrived at the Rajbhavan in Gandhinagar wherein he was welcomed by governor Acharya Devvrat,” read a statement released by the office of Gujarat governor Acharya Devvrat. 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,, 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. Meanwhile, Shah is also scheduled to attend the first convocation ceremony of Rashtriya Raksha University in Dahegam of Gandhinagar on Saturday along with PM Modi and CM Bhupendra Patel. (With PTI inputs)
