A series of events has been planned across Gujarat to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 76th birthday on Thursday. (File Photo)From lighting 76,000 diyas to a mass rendition of Vande Mataram, a series of events has been planned across Gujarat to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 76th birthday on Thursday.In Ahmedabad, Vishva Umiyadham, a predominantly Patidar community organisation near Vaishnodevi Circle, will organise a midnight programme in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. In a video message, R P Patel, the president of the organisation, said 5,000 people will attend the celebration.The programme will feature a Maha Arati before Goddess Umiya—likely to be performed by the chief minister—and prayers for the Prime Minister’s long life. At midnight, attendees will recite Vande Mataram, while 76,000 diyas will be lit to symbolically mark PM Modi turning 76.In another event, Sitavan, a gaushala (cow shelter) run by BJP MLA Babu Patel’s family, will donate 76 cows of the Gir breed to 76 women from economically weaker sections. Babu Patel is the president of the Shree Umiya Mataji Sansthan in Unjha in Mehsana district, the top religious organisation of the Kadva Patidar community in Gujarat. Organisers said the initiative aims to provide livelihood support to women of marginalised sections to make them self-reliant.Also Read | Vadnagar-Varanasi yatras, influencer tours: How BJP plans to mark Modi’s 25 years in officeAt another programme, the Vishwa Gujarati Samaj, an NGO representing the global Gujarati community, will distribute 76,000 saplings for kitchen gardens. The initiative seeks to encourage people to grow vegetables at home and promote a healthy lifestyle. Beneficiaries will also receive training on cultivation methods.Apart from this, the BJP has announced a bike rally, the Seva Sankalp Bike Yatra, from Vadnagar to Varanasi and from Varanasi to Vadnagar beginning September 17. The twin bike yatras will begin on September 17 and conclude on October 7, the day Modi became the chief minister of Gujarat in 2001.While Union Home Minister Amit Shah will flag off the Vadnagar-to-Varanasi leg of the yatra, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the Varanasi-to-Vadnagar route.