Prime Minister Narendra Modi said "this decade belongs to Uttarakhand" as he laid the foundation stone of reconstruction projects worth over Rs 400 crore at Kedarnath ahead of assembly election next year. PM Modi said a number of infrastructure projects had been planned for Uttarakhand, including road connectivity to Char Dhams and a ropeway near Hemkund Sahib for devotees.

"This decade belongs to Uttarakhand. In the next 10 years, the state will receive more tourists than it did in the last 100 years," PM Modi said at Kedarnath.