PM Modi’s meditation continues in Kanniyakumari, tourists allowed to visit Vivekananda Rock Memorial

Prime Minister Narendra Modi began meditating at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial on Thursday (May 30, 2024) evening and continued the second day of ‘dhyan’ on Friday.

After spending most of the night in meditation, PM Modi woke up early on Friday morning to enjoy the sunrise from the Vivekananda Rock Memorial and meditated for around 20 minutes in front of the ‘Devi Padam’, believed to be the footprint of Bhagavati Amman, who meditated on the rock with devotion to Lord Shiva.

The Prime Minister spent a few more minutes on the rock enjoying the sea breeze and the imposing 133-ft-tall Thiruvalluvar statue before re-entering the meditation hall to continue his ‘dhyan’ for the second day. The Prime Minister is expected to conclude his meditation at 3 pm on Saturday.

During the Prime Minister’s stay at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Coast Guard speedboats and Indian Coast Guard vessels will be patrolling around the clock near the memorial.

Tourists are allowed

Though with many restrictions, tourists have been allowed to go to Vivekananda Rock-cut Memorial from 8 am on Friday on boats operated by the Tamil Nadu government’s Poonpuhar Shipping Company. “Visitors are undergoing thorough body searches and are not allowed to carry cameras or bags inside the memorial. Though the meditation hall at Vivekananda Rock-cut Memorial has been sealed by security personnel, tourists can visit other places including ‘Devi Padam’. We don’t want to disappoint visitors,” said a senior police official.

However, the number of tourists visiting the Vivekananda Rock Memorial on Friday remained minimal as most people chose to avoid the place due to safety restrictions.

Similarly, most hotel rooms in the tourist destination remained vacant.

“Safety restrictions may have reduced tourist footfall in Kanniyakumari. Our hotel has only guests from north India, who had booked rooms long in advance, but there are zero tourists from Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Food establishments and other business establishments, which are swarmed with tourists this time every year, have suffered huge losses since Wednesday (May 29). With the counting of votes scheduled for June 4 and schools set to reopen on June 6 after summer vacation, Kanniyakumari’s ‘business season’ has already ended on a slump,” a hotelier said.