Rising from the banks of the Ganga, the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, the first phase of which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 13, will give pilgrims a smooth 400-metre walk, with escalators and ramps for accessibility, from the ghat to the centuries-old temple dedicated to Shiva, once completed. Instead of the narrow bylanes that greeted pilgrims arriving on the riverbank, the corridor around the temple is now spread over 5 lakh square feet, up from the earlier 3,000 sq.ft, including a civic square in front of the temple, amenities and offices for the trust that runs the temple.
While the corridor and its gates were decked up for the inauguration, not much had changed outside the main entrance to the temple from the street. Pilgrims lined up over 1 km along the already-congested lane, with electric cables hanging overhead. The facades of the buildings along the entrance wore a fresh coat of paint applied in time for the dignitaries to arrive. Officials associated with the project said it would be another two months before the steps leading up from the river would be finished. A sewage pumping station on the riverbank would also be shifted out soon, they said. Several officials, on condition of anonymity, admitted the inauguration of the incomplete corridor was timed to beat the announcement of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election and the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct in the coming weeks.
A cultural symbol
Started in 2019, the project in the Prime Minister’s constituency has cost around ₹800 crore, with half that amount going towards buying the land. Around 1,000 families, many of which had lived in the area for generations, moved out after selling their homes and businesses. In their reasoning for the project, government officials have cited Mahatma Gandhi, who, after visiting the temple in 1916, lamented the condition of the streets leading to it. While laying the foundation stone for the project in March 2019, Mr. Modi said it had long been a dream of his to improve the conditions for pilgrims at the temple. At the inauguration on December 13, Mr. Modi, speaking to a crowd of 3,000, including religious and political figures, said the Kashi Vishwanath corridor was not just a building, but a “symbol of the Sanatan culture of India”.
According to the architects of the project, Ahmedabad-based HCP Design, Planning and Management, the rectangular campus around the temple was built in Chunar stone from Mirzapur, without any steel and concrete, so it can last as long as the temple itself.
The civic space or temple chowk has traditional arches, while the gateway to the space is inspired by the Ramnagar Fort’s gateway, they said. Constructing the corridor was a challenge as the only way to bring materials in was through a 40-ft road or on barges on the river, they said in a written note. The temple also remained open to worshippers, ranging from tens of thousands to lakhs on festivals, throughout the construction.
The temple corridor and its modern amenities stand next to the cordoned-off Gyanvapi Mosque, which has been at the centre of a legal dispute, with Hindu groups claiming it was built on the ruins of a temple. Speaking during the inauguration event, Mr. Modi said Varanasi had witnessed invaders who had tried to destroy it and the “atrocities” of Aurangzeb. But, he added, if an Aurangzeb rose, then so did a Shivaji. The temple was rebuilt by Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar in the 18th century and much work is being done now, he said.
For local people, the project has brought hopes of increased business in the form of more pilgrims, after nearly two years of hardship due to the pandemic. Traders in the area say their business has already seen an uptick during the construction of the project.
However, some of those whose houses were demolished to make way for the corridor say their means of employment have been taken away, from small sari workshops to shops selling religious articles for worshippers. While the governments at the Centre and the State have claimed that 40 “ancient temples” were discovered while demolishing the buildings and restored, some locals have alleged that smaller temples in what is now the Kashi Vishwanath temple complex were demolished to make way for the corridor.
