Somnath Temple authorities to rope in architect Bimal Patel for future projects

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day visit to his home state of Gujarat, on Friday presided over a meeting of Shree Somnath Trust in his capacity as the chairman of the body that manages the famous Shiva Temple at Prabhas Patan town in Gir Somnath district.

At the meeting, held at Raj Bhawan in Gandhinagar, the trustees gave their nod for embellishing the main Shikhar (spire) with gold to restore the glory of the famous temple, said an official aware of the development.

The temple trustees also decided to rope in noted architect Bimal Patel to create the master plan of the temple keeping in view the future requirements of the temple, the official said. Patel is the master architect for a number of public projects in the country including the Central Vista project in New Delhi.

“At Prabhas Patan, we have large land parcels that are lying unused. Also, we have a number of upcoming projects. For implementing these projects in the best possible way, we have decided to take the services of architect Patel,” said P K Laheri, one of the temple trustees and former chief secretary in the Gujarat government.

Prime Minister Modi became the new chairman of the temple trust in January 2021. The post had fallen vacant after the death of BJP leader and former chief minister of Gujarat, Keshubhai Patel.

At the meeting, the trustees lauded the efforts made by the temple authorities in the aftermath of Cyclone Tauktae that ravaged parts of Saurashtra after making landfall near Una in Gir-Somnath district. Somnath is first among the twelve Aadi Jyotirlings of India. The other trustees of the temple are home minister Amit Shah, former deputy prime minister LK Advani, former Gujarat chief secretary Laheri, Harshvardhan Neotia, a Kolkata-based businessman, and JD Parmar.

“Chaired a meeting of the Shree Somnath Trust during which we discussed the ongoing infrastructure upgradation measures which will benefit pilgrims and tourists. The Trust has made many efforts to make Somnath an Adarsh Teerth which will draw people from all over,” PM Modi said in a tweet on Friday.