We were stunned when we were told that the PM would be visiting our DET at Mana and staying there overnight. The DET is commanded by a young Assistant Executive Officer (AEE) rank officer, has very basic infrastructure and almost no facilities," a BRO officer told India Today.

 

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Modiji spent night in a makeshift tin structure at Mana near China border.....

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent a night in a small semi-permanent temporary roof structure at a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) Detachment or DET at 11,300 feet altitude near Mana during his visit to Uttarakhand on Saturday. The prime minister ate simple khichdi, mandwe ki roti, local chutney and jhagore ki kheer (a pudding) cooked by a labourer working for BRO.

''We were stunned when we were told that the PM would be visiting our DET at Mana and staying there overnight. The DET is commanded by a young Assistant Executive Officer (AEE) rank officer, has very basic infrastructure and almost no facilities," a BRO officer told India Today.

With the prime minister visiting the temporary structure with a tin roof, the BRO had less than 72 hours to make it ship-shaped. PM Modi decided to spend the night at the DET itself interacting with the labourers and road construction workers. He then asked one of them to cook khichdi for dinner.

"No special material was brought in for the PM. He ate the same ration that was there in the DET kitchen. Though the administration had made arrangements at Badrinath, the prime minister and his personal staff stayed at the DET eating the food made by the DET road construction labourer," an official said.

The DET commander, AEE Bhavna Joshi, asked the PM's staff what he would like to eat and PM Modi is learnt to have said anything simple and a local dish.

"The temporary cook made khichdi, poha, meetha karela and jhagore ki kheer for the prime minister," the official added.

At 11,300 feet, PM Modi stayed in a simple room with a small electric heater to keep the room warm in sub zero temperatures at night. He is learnt to have told the DET staff he was very happy staying with them and even participated in the Bharat Mata Ki Jai 'jaikara' before he left the next day.

Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary, Director General BRO pinned the Director General's commendation card on Devendra, Rajesh, Anitesh Kumar and Suresh Saini at the Mana DET after PM Modi appreciated their cooking and service.

PM Modi was also appreciative of the hard work done by BRO staff in extremely difficult situations and wrote Shramen Sarvam Sadhyam (with hard work everything is achieved) in the DET visitors book.

The prime minister, after darshan at the Kedarnath and Badrinath temples in Uttarakhand, also laid the foundation stone for expansion of two strategic roads on Saturday. The first road is the strategic axis from Mana to Mana Pass on NH-07. It is 50,987 km long road leading up to the China border. The road is to be expanded at an estimated cost of Rs 574 crore and is expected to be constructed by March 2026. Incidentally, the road work will be under the supervision of the first and only all women road construction company of BRO.

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Mana is a village in the district of Chamoli in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, located at an altitude of 3,200 meters. It is located on the northern terminus of NH 58,Mana is the last village before the Mana Pass and is 24 kilometres from the border of India and Tibet/China. The village is at a distance of about 3 km from the Hindu Pilgrimage Badrinath and the two places are culturally connected with each other.