MODHERA | IAS GYAN

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Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be declaring Modhera in Gujarat as a 24 x 7 solar-powered village on October 9.

Details:

Under this, this first-of-its-kind project, Solar Rooftops have been set up in over 1300 rural houses at iconic Modhera village at the cost of 80 crore rupees.
It is India’s first grid-connected megawatt-hours (MWh) scale battery energy storage system.
This has resulted in more than 60 to 100 percent reduction in power bills.
PM will visit Modhshwari Goddess temple and the world-famous Modhera Sun temple.
The Modhera Sun Temple was made by King Bhima I of the Chalukya dynasty in the early 11th century.
It is a temple made to honour the Sun God in Modhera village of Mehsana district on the bank of River Pushpavati.
The temple is designed in such a way that during every equinox, the first ray of the rising sun would fall on a diamond placed on the head of the Sun God. This would also light up the shrine with a golden glow.
The Sabha Mandap stands on 52 pillars, signifying the 52 weeks in a year. There are carvings of the sun on the walls to show its unity with air, water, earth and space.
In 2014, Modhera Sun Temple entered the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
It enjoys the same significance as other two well-known sun-temples in Kashmir (Martand) and Orissa (Konark).
The Gujarat Tourism hosts a three-day dance festival every year, known as the Uttarardha Mahotsav, at the temple every January after Makar Sankranti festival.