After invite from Harish Rawat, Modi to visit Kedarnath

New Delhi/Dehradun, Sep 8: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat Monday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital and extended him an invitation to visit the Kedarnath shrine in the hill state.

During the "cordial meeting", Modi enquired about the health of Rawat, who had met with an air accident a few months back and suffered a fracture in the neck.

Rawat invited Modi to Kedarnath - seat of Lord Shiva - ravaged by landslides and flash floods following cloud burst and heavy rain in June 2013.

Informed sources said Modi has accepted the invite but no dates were immediately given for the visit.

Modi is a known Shiva devotee as he offered prayers at Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency, and the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, in the past few months.

Kedarnath is one of the 12 jyotirlingas in the country and is part of the famed annual "Char Dham Yatra".

Rawat also handed Modi a list of demands, including financial assistance from the central government for improving Uttarakhamd's roads, tourism sector and rehabilitation of villages - all hit by last year's natural disaster.

Modi is learnt to have given assurance that he would look into the demands.

After the meeting, Rawat said he was very "hopeful and positive" that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government will extend all possible help to the state. "I am very positive the union government will help us," he added.

IANS