Inauguration of Circuit House by PM in Somnath

Tags: State News

PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Circuit House at Somnath via video conferencing.

• Somnath Temple is visited by lakhs of devotees from India and abroad every year. The need for the new Circuit House was felt as the existing government facility was located far off from the temple.
• The new Circuit House has been built at a cost of over Rs 30 crore and is located near the Somnath Temple. It is equipped with top class facilities including suites,VIP and deluxe rooms,conference room, auditorium hall etc.The landscaping has been done in such a manner that sea view is available from every room.
• Somnath Temple is located in Prabhas Patan, Veraval in Gujarat, India. 
• One of the most sacred pilgrimage sites for the Hindus,they believe it to be the first among the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva. 
• Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi is the chairman of Shree Somnath Mandir Trust.
• It is unclear when the first version of the Somnath temple was built. After India’s independence the present Somnath temple was reconstructed in the Maru-Gurjara style of Hindu temple architecture under the order of the first Home Minister of India Vallabhbhai Patel. 
• The construction was completed in May 1951.  

Maru-Gurjara style of Hindu temple architecture

Maru-Gurjara architecture,Chalukya style or Solanki style, is a style of north Indian temple architecture that originated in Gujarat and Rajasthan from the 11th to 13th centuries,under the Chalukya dynasty(or Solanki dynasty). 

•  Bhupendrabhai Patel is the Chief Minister of Gujarat.