The leaders of the Sikh community in the country have expressed their gratitude toward Prime Minister Narendra Modi for laying the foundation stone of a 12.5 km long ropeway connecting Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib in Uttarakhand. It will reduce travel time to the Sikh holy shrine to just 45 minutes against more than 24 hours.

The Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) president Jathedar Baljit Singh Dadduwal in a letter to the PM said, “in continuation of your kindness, today you inaugurated the ropeway Marg by spending crores of rupees with which Sikh pilgrims will get rid of the difficulties faced by them while going to pay obeisance at Sri Hemkund Sahib.”

He further said that for this act of kindness HSGPC shall always be thankful to you.

Tarlochan Singh, a former member of parliament and chairman of the minorities commission too has welcomed the step of the Modi government to connect Govindghat with Hemkund Sahib at a cost of several crores. ” The Sikh community will never forget the welfare measures for Sikhs undertaken by the PM,” he said in a statement.

Former SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur too welcomed Modi’s inauguration of the ropeway to Hemkund sahib. “The government should do more to help the Sikhs to easily visit their shrines. It is a welcome step,” she said.

SGPC president H.S. Dhami when contacted for his reaction to the inauguration of the ropeway to Hemkund Sahib said that he would study the project and give SGPC’s response after some time. He did not call back to give his reaction till the filing of this report.

The PM also laid the foundation stone of another ropeway connecting Gaurikund to Kedarnath after offering prayers at the Kedarnath and Badrinath temples. The two ropeways will cost Rs 2,430 crore.

Modi said that they were not just providing connectivity but would also give a fillip to economic development in the state. “The launch of the ropeway at Shri Hemkund Sahib will light up the celebrations throughout the world…besides helping devotees the two ropeways will promote tourism at these places, ” he added.

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