NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday his government’s work in Uttarakhand‘s Kedarnath shrine will be a model for what a pilgrimage site should be.

“Through the work we are doing in Kedarnath, we want to show how an ideal ‘Tirth Kshetra’ (pilgrimage spot) should be, how it should be pilgrim friendly and the well-being of the priests should be given importance,” said the PM on what is his second visit this year to the shrine of Kedarnath in the state of Uttarakhand.

The PM’s visit came on the eve of the shrine’s closure for the winter season. He last visited in May, when the shrine reopened after the winter break.

“We are building quality infrastructure in Kedarnath. It will be modern but the traditional ethos will be preserved. We will ensure the environment is not damaged,” said Modi.

Modi recalled how he requested the then chief minister (CM) of Uttarakhand to give the reconstruction of Kedarnath to the Gujarat government, after the floods of 2013. He alleged that the then CM agreed, but the then UPA government at the Centre put pressure on the CM to say the state didn’t need Gujarat’s help.

“After we then won the Assembly elections in Uttarakhand (in February), I became convinced that ‘baba’ (god) wanted me to do the reconstruction job,” said Modi.

Earlier on Friday, he laid the foundation stone for a slew of reconstruction projects in Kedarpuri, including the renovation of Adi Guru Shankaracharya’s tomb, which was devastated in the flash floods of 2013.