Guj: PM to attend two temple functions of Patidars on Mar 4-5

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will Tuesday participate in a function to consecrate the idol of Goddess Annapurna at a newly-built temple at Adalaj in Gandhinagar, functionaries of the Sri Annapurnadham Trust said.

Organisers said PM Modi would also lay the foundation stone of a Rs 15 crore training centre-cum-hostel for economically weak students to be housed in the temple complex, they said.

The temple itself has been built at a cost of Rs 5.5 crore, trustees said.

The Trust comprises Leuva Patels, a sub-group of the Patidar community.

Giving details of Modi's participation in the "pran pratishtha" ceremony at the temple, former deputy chief minister and Trust head Narhari Amin said state Governor O P Kohli, Madhya Pradesh Governor and former Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel would attend the event.

Amin said the hostel-cum-training centre, which will help economically weak students, especially from rural areas, for competitive exams, will have accommodation facility for up to 600 students and is expected to be ready by June next year.

"While priority will be given to students from the Patidar community, students from other communities can also apply. Training for competitive examination will be provided at a nominal fee and the process of shortlisting candidates will be determined by the trust in the coming months," he said.

On March 4, PM Modi is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for Vishv Umiya Dham, a mega temple complex coming up on the city's outskirts at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore.

The temple will be dedicated to Maa Umiya, the reigning deity of Kadva Patels, a sub-group of the Patidar community.

The temple complex will also have a skill university, students' hostels, counselling facilities and a community dispute-resolution centres, organisers said.