The tea stall in Guajarat’s Vadnagar where Prime Minister Narendra Modi sold tea during his childhood would be developed as a tourist spot, Union Culture and Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma has said.
“Inside the Vadnagar Railway Station, there is a small tea stall, from where our PM had probably started his life’s journey. We also want to develop that tea stall as a tourism spot. We will try to preserve the original charm of the tea stall while giving it a modern touch. Our aim is to put Vadnagar on world tourism map,” Sharma said in Gandhinagar on Sunday.
However, he on Monday issued a clarification in the national capital, saying although there was a plan to develop the Vadnagar Railway Station as a tourist destination, there was no proposal for giving a facelift to the tea stall.
“The ministry of tourism along with the ministry of railways are developing the Vadnagar Railway Station as a tourist destination. We have already discussed the plans. As of now there are no plans to give any facelift to the tea stall,” Sharma said in a statement.
The stall is located on one of the platforms of the Vadnagar Railway Station. Officials of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had visited the town on Sunday.
Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Modi had often mentioned that he used to sell tea during his childhood at the Vadnagar Railway Station along with his father.
Earlier, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Ahmedabad, Dinesh Kumar had said, the entire project of developing Vadnagar and adjoining places in the Mehsana district would cost over Rs 100 crore.
PTI