Birthday boy Modi visits Statue of Unity in home state

Kevadiya: Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 69 on Tuesday and began the day with a visit to the Statue of Unity and the Sardar Sarovar Dam on the river Narmada in his home state of Gujarat.

The Statue of Unity, billed as the tallest in the world, was inaugurated by him on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth anniversary on October 31 last year.

There were reports that he filmed a video of the Statue of Unity from his helicopter.

Earlier on Tuesday, Modi arrived at Kevadiya to take part in the ‘Namami Narmada’ festival being celebrated by the Gujarat government to mark the filling up of the Sardar Sarovar Dam on Narmada river to its full reservoir level of 138.68 metres.

For the first time since the height of the dam was raised in 2017, the water level reached its highest peak at 138.68 metres on Sunday evening.

Modi along with Chief Minister Vijay Rupani would perform ‘puja’ at the dam site to ‘welcome’ the water of river Narmada, the lifeline of Gujarat.

The PM, who would be addressing a gathering near the dam, visited various developmental projects being carried out near the dam and Statue of Unity to boost tourism.

These projects include river rafting, a jungle safari park, a butterfly park and Ekta Nursery, an officila said.

Modi also visited the Khalvani Eco-Tourism site. In the safari, he apparently spotted deer.

Modi is also expected to visit Dutt Mandir at nearby Garudeshwar village on the banks of Narmada.