Rudraprayag (Uttarakhand), Oct 21: Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed puja at Kedarnath Temple on Friday.
Prime Minister donned a traditional pahadi outfit at the holy shrine. PM Modi’s handmade attire was made by the women of Chamba, Himachal Pradesh. The dress is popularly called ‘Chola Dora’.
It was gifted to Prime Minister during his recent visit to the state.
PM was accompanied by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at the temple.
Prime Minister is on a visit to the Himalayan state to lay the foundation stone of projects worth over Rs 3,400 crore.
PM Modi arrived at Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun and was received by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Gurmeet Singh.
PM will lay the foundation stone of the Kedarnath Ropeway Project. After that, he will visit the Adi Guru Shankaracharya Samadhi Sthal. He will also review the progress of development works along Mandakini Asthapath and Saraswati Asthapath.
Later on the day, Prime Minister will reach Badrinath where he will perform darshan and pooja at Shri Badrinath Temple.
He will then review the progress of the development work of the riverfront, followed by laying the foundation stone of road and ropeway projects at Mana village. He will review the progress of development work of arrival plaza and lakes.
The ropeway in Kedarnath will be around 9.7 Km long and will connect Gaurikund to Kedarnath, reducing the travel time between the two places from 6-7 hours at present, to only about 30 mins. The Hemkund ropeway will connect Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib. It will be around 12.4 km long and will reduce the travel time from more than a day to only about 45 mins. This ropeway will also connect Ghangaria, which is the gateway to Valley of Flowers National Park, said the PMO statement.
The ropeways, which will be developed at a cumulative cost of around Rs 2,430 crore, are an environmental friendly mode of transport that will provide a safe, secure and stable mode of transport. This major infrastructure development will give a boost to religious tourism, which will give a fillip to the economic development in the region and lead to creation of multiple employment opportunities as well.
Foundation stone of road widening projects worth around Rs 1000 crore will also be laid during the visit. The two road widening projects – from Mana to Mana Pass (NH07) and from Joshimath to Malari (NH107B) – shall be another step towards providing last-mile all-weather road connectivity to our border areas. Apart from boosting connectivity, these projects will also prove beneficial from a strategic point of view as well.
Kedarnath and Badrinath are one of the most important Hindu shrines. The area is also known for one of the revered Sikh Pilgrim site – Hemkund Sahib. The connectivity projects are aimed to ease access and improve basic infrastructure in places of religious significance. (AGENCIES)

NEW DELHI, Oct 21: A private hospital in Prayagraj was sealed on Thursday for allegedly transfusing fruit juice instead of blood platelets to a dengue patient who later died, police said.
After a video of the alleged incident went viral on social media, the district administration swung into action and on the direction of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, the hospital was sealed.
The patient, Pradeep Pandey was shifted to another hospital, where he died after his condition deteriorated, officials said. However, no FIR has been registered at the local police station.
The owner of the private hospital claimed that the platelets were brought from a different medical facility and the patient had a reaction after three units were transfused.
In a tweet, Deputy CM Pathak said, “Taking cognisance of the viral video at the hospital where a dengue patient was transfused with sweet lemon juice instead of platelets, on my directive the hospital was sealed and the platelet packets have been sent for testing.”
“If found guilty, strict action will be taken against the hospital,” he said.
According to sources, the patient died due to the transfusion of “wrong platelets” and the samples of those will be examined.
Asked about the reason for sealing the hospital, an officer, on condition of anonymity, said it has been done on the instructions of the chief medical officer and will remain so till the sample is tested.
Saurabh Mishra, the owner of the hospital, said that since the patient Pradeep Pandey’s platelets level dropped to 17,000, his relatives were asked to arrange blood platelets for him.
“They brought five units of platelets from SRN Hospital. After transfusion of three units, the patient had a reaction. So we stopped it,” he said.
Mr. Mishra said that the platelets should be examined and their origin should be traced because they had the sticker of SRN hospital on them.
District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar Khatri, said, “An inquiry is underway and the platelets will also be tested.” (Agencies)

Arunachal Pradesh, October 21: A military chopper crashed on Friday near Mingging village, 25 kilometres away from the Tuting headquarters in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) crashed near Tuting area in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Siang district today at around 10:40 am today, according to Defence PRO, Guwahati.
Jummar Basar, Superintendent of Police Upper Siang, said over phone, “The site of the accident is not connected through road. A rescue team has been rushed and all other other details are awaited.”
Further details are awaited.
Earlier on October 5 this year, an Indian Army pilot lost his life in a Cheetah helicopter crash near Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh.
“The Cheetah helicopter flying in forward areas near Tawang crashed at around 10:00 AM during a routine sortie. Both the pilots were evacuated to the nearest Military Hospital,” Army officials had said. (Agencies)

The last leg of Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi will be taken up in Karnataka from Friday. The padayatra will enter the Raichur district of Karnataka from Mantralaya in Andhra Pradesh.

Meanwhile, party sources confirmed that another scion of the Gandhi family, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is most likely to take part in the padayatra on Saturday.

The padayatra resumed from Mantralaya Temple Circle in Andhra Pradesh at 6 a.m. It will enter Karnataka’s Gillesegur in Raichur district at 10 a.m.

The Congress leaders will take up padayatra for three days in the district. The padayatra will cross the Tungabhadra bridge and pass through Yaragera, Raichur city and Shakthinagar.

Rahul Gandhi is interacting with the farmers and local people during the Yatra. He is staying at the Ranganatha Swamy Temple at Yaragera village.

On October 23, the padayatra will enter Telangana. The Congress leaders have been tasked with gathering 20,000 to 30,000 people during the yatra.

The police department has deputed 2,000 police personnel to ensure security. Padayatra has so far got a good response from the people in the state. Sonia Gandhi had also taken part in the padayatra briefly in Mandya district of south Karnataka.

The Congress party leaders are upbeat about the padayatra and they maintain that the party has gained right momentum in the run up to the state Assembly elections. The elections are scheduled to be held in another six months in Karnataka.

The internal survey conducted by the Congress leaders has shown that it will obtain a simple majority in the state Assembly elections.

The padayatra entered Karnataka on September 30. It will cover 511 kilometres of distance in the state.