Somnath Trust to deposit 6 kg gold under central scheme

The Somnath Trust, which met on Saturday, decided to deposit about 6 kg gold under the government’s monetisation scheme.

“Glad that Somnath Trust decided to deposit about 6 kg gold under Gold Monetisation Scheme of Government of India,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who attended the meeting, tweeted.

The Board of Trustees met at the official residence of Modi to discuss a variety of issues.

At the meeting chaired by BJP veteran L K Advani, the Prime Minister stressed the need to develop Somnath as an ancient heritage pilgrimage as well as a tourist destination.

The Trust reviewed the progress of various projects of continuous growth of devotees visiting Somnath. As Somnath is about to witness one crore of yatris, state-of-the-art infrastructure for the all-round development should be envisioned, the trustees felt, according to an official release.

The Prime Minister also suggested excavations of areas to establish various missing historic links. He said high-tech marine attractions and virtual reality shows should be covered in the future plan. He also suggested to bring maximum areas under CCTV surveillance network.

As the chairman of the trust, Keshubhai Patel, was unwell, Advani chaired the meet. Newly appointed trustee and BJP chief Amit Shah also attended the meeting, along with other members.