Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday celebrated Diwali with the personnel of Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), mandated to guard 3,488 km Sino-India border, in Uttarakhand.
The Prime Minister reached Harshil village at around 7.50 a.m. in a special Indian Air Force plane and distributed sweets to the personnel before leaving for Kedarnath around 9.10 a.m., according to an ITBP spokesperson.
Harshil is situated at the confluence of Jalandhari Gadh and Bhagirathi rivers and at the foot of the mountain that lies at the head of the Baspa Valley at the height of around 8,000 feet.
On the occasion, Modi said he still remember his Kailash Mansarovar Yatra long back and how ITBP troops helped him and other pilgrims in the holy yatra.
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The Prime Minister later also offered prayers at the Kedarnath shrine and extended Diwali greetings to soldiers posted on the India-China border.
After offering prayers, Prime Minister Modi met the locals and people gathered at the temple to Lord Shiva, surrounded by snow-capped Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini river.
Greeting the soldiers on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that their devotion to duty in the remote icy heights is enabling the strength of the nation and securing the future and the dreams of 125 crore Indians.
In 2014, Prime Minister Modi spent Diwali in Siachen with soldiers.
In the following year, he visited the Punjab border on the festival of lights.
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In 2016, Prime Minister Modi went to Himachal Pradesh to celebrate the festival with Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel at an outpost.
Last year, he celebrated Diwali with jawans at Gurez in Jammu and Kashmir.
Agencies
