Vadodara: Prime Minister Narendrabhai Modi will pay historic visit to Mahakali Mandir at Pavagadh on 18th June and dedicate various developments done at a cost of Rs 121 crore. He will hoist the first religious flag of Goddess Mahakli atop the newly constructed Mandir which remained without flag otherwise through centuries due to broken shikhar.

Ashok Pandya, Trustee of Pavagadh Mandir Trust said, “Renovation is completed. New idols are established in the places of the broken idols. The shikhar was broken from centuries and it was not possible to set-up a dhaja on it due to the same. Today, the shikhar is renovated and a dhwaja will be set-up on it for the first time after centuries. That too, with the hands of the country’s glorious PM Narendra Modi. We, all will witness that moment in the morning on 18th.”

PM Modi will perform Dhwajarohan at the mandir. Thanks to Prime Minister Narendrabhai Modi’s wish and inspiration, the renovation of the mandir is done at a cost of Rs 121 crore which includes various developments. A campus with a capacity of 2000 devotees has been developed at the corridor on the hill. The Kalash, Dhwaja Dand and Garbhagrih at the mandir are plated with gold. The steps to reach the mandir are also widened.

The gold plating at a cost of Rs 7.5 crore on the Kalash of the main shikhar of the mandir and dhwaja dand is done ahead of Prime Minister Narendrabhai’s visit during which he will place a flag atop it. 1.40 kg of gold is plated on 7 kalash of 2-feet size at the mandir. Gujarat Pavitra Yatradham Vikas Board has also undertaken beautification of Dudhiya talav. The work of 210 feet lift for the devotees at the mandir is also in progress. Gujarat Pavitra Yatradham Vikas Board has received approval for the lift from the state government. The hill beside the Gabbar hill at Pavagadh will be delved to make a lift. The tendering process for the same is started. The lift will have a capacity of maximum 12 persons. It will allow devotees to reach the mahakali mandir within 40 seconds.

In further development works, a dormitory and an annakshetra will be also built across 32 thousand square feet at a cost of Rs 12 crore for the devotees. Around 300 to 400 devotees will be able to have a meal simultaneously at the annakshetra. The developments are scheduled in two phases at Machi, out of which the work of the first phase of Machi chowk is almost done. The tree plantation will be done at a cost of Rs 1 crore per year for 5 years at Pavagadh. The mobile towers will be also set-up at the hill to resolve the mobile connectivity issues. DeshGujarat