The people of Kothadia village in Rajkot district are looking forward to a new attraction. On Sunday, an idol of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be unveiled at this temple dedicated to him.
The temple, built in 2006, had photographs of Mr. Modi and the icon of Bharat Mata.
“We used to worship photographs earlier, but now we will worship his idol. There are memorials of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel everywhere. I feel similar memorials should be dedicated to Mr. Modi too,” village sarpanch Mansukh Thumar told The Hindu on the phone.
An organisation of 350 local youths called Om Yuva Group contributed the Rs. 1.7 lakh required for the idol.
“Artisans were called from Odisha to renovate the temple and make Mr. Modi’s bust,” Mr. Thumar said.
‘Aartis’ performed The temple, he said, performed ‘aartis’ at 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.
With a population of 80,000, Kothadia was recently included in the jurisdiction of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation.
“150 to 300 people come to the temple daily. In the morning, the flow of worshippers is thin, but in the evening, they swell,” Maganbhai Patodia of the Om Yuva Group said.
