Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi fans who failed to buy his famous pinstripe suit or visit the temporary Modi temple, now have an easier way to show their love for the popular premier: a bus tour through his home town.
A visit to Modi’s birthplace Vadnagar and a tour of the railway station where he sold tea as a boy are now part of a tour package offered by the Gujarat Government’s tourism agency.
Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL), through an official partner, is offering a day-long tour that costs Rs. 600 per head, to Vadnagar in Mehsana district. The package is called “‘A Rise From Modi’s Village” and is reportedly a huge hit with tourists.
The state-run TCGL is promoting the tour on its website; it was introduced during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in January this year.
The tour begins from Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar and includes a visit to PM Modi’s ancestral house in Vadnagar, where he was born. Tourists are then taken to a primary school “Vadnagar Prathmik Kumar Shala” where the PM studied.
They also get a chance to see the Vadnagar-based high school where PM Modi, 64, performed various roles in dramas, the TCGL website said.
“For those wanting to know more about Modiji, we have arranged meetings with his school classmates, who tell stories about Modiji when he was a student. We then take tourists to the Hatkeshwar Temple, where our PM used to play drums during prayers,” said a tour manager at Akshar Travels.
The website describes the Vadnagar railway station as “the most unforgettable place” in context of the Prime Minister’s humble background and his rise to the top. People are taken to the stall owned by the PM’s father where Mr Modi used to sell tea as a boy.
Other attractions include Buddhist archaeological sites in Vadnagar and a visit to Sharmistha Lake, “where Modi’s childhood began with an adventure of catching a crocodile.”
(With inputs from PTI)