New York-based Babu R Patel with his family at Vadnagar rail station

VADNAGAR: When he landed in India recently along with his wife, Babu R Patel’s first destination was the stall in railway station here in Gujarat where teenager Narendra Modi would help his father Damodar Modi sell tea. There are many like Patel, whose curiosity has kicked off ‘tea stall tourism’ at the PM’s hometown in a big way.

A resident of Beverly Drive in New York, Patel, who works in the real estate sector, says the stall which is now being preserved as a unique tourist spot, was a must on his itinerary. “I have sent video and pictures of Vadnagar railway station visit to my friends abroad and all of them were equally excited,” Patel says.

En route to the famous Ambaji Temple from Ahmedabad, Vadnagar railway station is being spruced up at a cost of Rs 8 crore and tracks are being upgraded to broad gauge. The wooden tea stall, which once belonged to Modi family, however, remains as it was. The central tourism ministry is developing the place as a tourist spot and the tea stall is being ensconced in a glass case.

On his Gujarat tour recently, Union tourism minister Prahlad Patel visited the tea shop and asked the department officials to start working on the project. A trial run of a train from Unjha to Vadnagar stations has already been done and passenger services are likely soon. “Final plan is to extend the tracks up to Abu Road Station,” an official said.

With Modi dominating the political discourse of the country and with millions of fans in India and abroad, Vadnagar has been receiving regular visitors to see places connected to his life often referenced by the PM himself in his public speeches.

Another such destination is the Hatakeshwar Mahadev temple popular among Shiva devotees. Modi has often cited the temple as the inspiration behind his move to contest from Varanasi, the most revered seat of Lord Shiva.

Even as the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Modi’s constituency of Varanasi is getting a facelift with a dedicated corridor connecting it to the Ganga ghat, the Hatakeshwar Mahadev Temple in his hometown too has undergone a renovation. Located near Nadiali Gate, one of the six gates to enter Vadnagar town, the temple’s renovation started in 2014 and was completed last year with an expenditure of Rs 15 crore.

“We have 10 rooms for the pilgrims who want to stay here and another guest-house is being developed now,” says chief priest Rawal Niranjan Bhai Chamanlal. The priest says the temple has been mentioned in the Nagar-Khand of Skand Purana to prove his point that the city and the temple’s existence could be traced back to the Puranic period. However, detailed accounts of the temple are available from the Solanki period.

Vadnagar has potential as a tourist destination for religious as well as leisure trips. There are 360 temples and as many step wells and lakes in the town. Agriculture seed shop owner at College Shipping Centre here, Jignesh Bhai Patel says people were earlier hesitant to come out of the gated city but expansion has happened in a large-scale in the recent past. “Full-time power supply, and adequate water supply has changed our lives,” says Patel and adds, “People exploring opportunities in other cities are an exception here as we have all amenities to make us self sufficient.”

