New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the Sardardham Bhavan in Ahmedabad and participated in a "Bhoomi Pujan" of Sardardham Phase-II Kanya Chhatralaya (girls’ hostel) in Gujarat via video conferencing.
During the ceremony, PM Modi also remembered the tragic 9/11 terrorist attacks on the occasion of its 20th anniversary.
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"Before starting any new work we offer our prayers to Lord Ganesh, and fortunately, the inauguration of Sardardham Bhavan is also being done on the auspicious occasion of 'Ganesha' festival. Yesterday was Ganesh Chaturthi and today the entire nation is celebrating the festival," PM Modi said.
Talking about the terrorist attacks that hit America 20 years ago, the Prime Minister said: "Today is September 11th i.e. 9/11. A date in the history of the world that is known to have struck humanity".
He spoke how a century ago, on September 11, 1893, Swami Vivekananda took the global stage of the World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago and introduced the world to the human values of India.
"On this day, Swami Vivekananda stood on that global stage and introduced the world to the human values of India. Today the world is realizing that tragedies like 9/11 will have a permanent solution, only through these values of humanity," he added, as quoted by ANI.
The Prime Minister also announced that Subramania Bharati chair on Tamil Studies will be set up in the Faculty of Arts at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) for research fellows and students to mark the 100th death anniversary of Tamil poet Subramania Bharathi.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy CM Nitin Patel were also present during the inauguration ceremony.
Set up in Ahmedabad, the Sardardham Bhavan includes state-of-the-art facilities for students, with modern amenities. The Kanya Chhatralaya will be a hostel facility for 2,000 girls irrespective of economic criteria.
Sardardham has been working towards educational and social transformation, upliftment of the weaker sections of society, and providing employment opportunities to the youth, the Prime Minister's office had stated earlier.