Hyderabad

Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar and other leaders on Saturday offered prayers at various Shiva temples here as part of the ongoing 'Somnath Swabhiman Parv'.

Sanjay Kumar, Union Minister of State for Home, participated in a special puja and 'abhishekam' at Sri Durga Bhavani temple at Punjagutta in the city.

Ramchander Rao offered prayers at a Shiva temple inside Osmania University.

Somnath Swabhiman Parv (January 8-11) commemorates 1,000 years since the first attack by Mahmud of Ghazni on the Somnath Temple in 1026, according to an official release.

Parv celebrates the enduring spirit of India’s civilisation and rich cultural and spiritual heritage.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Somnath on January 10-11 to participate in key commemorative events.

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The Somnath temple draws 97 lakh devotees annually.

Somnath is in the Gir Somnath district of Gujarat, located more than 400 km from Ahmedabad.