The 400-metre-long Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi connecting the ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shiva to the banks of the Ganges would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.
In a statement on Sunday, the Prime Minister’s Office said: “It was the vision of the Prime Minister for a long time, to facilitate the pilgrims and devotees of Baba Vishwanath, who had to encounter congested streets and surroundings with poor upkeep, when they practised the age-old custom of taking dip in the holy river, collecting Gangajal and offering it at the temple.”
The project started with Mr. Modi laying the foundation stone on March 8, 2019 and has neared completion ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll in early 2022. While the first phase of the project would be opened on Monday, the gateway to the Ganges, the steps going down and the ghat would take another two months to complete, according to the project’s architect, Bimal Patel.
Town abuzz
The holy site, which is in Mr. Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency, was abuzz with activity on Sunday evening, not only with preparations for Monday’s event but pending construction works. Buildings along the narrow streets leading up to the temple had a fresh coat of paint. The temple premises had been decorated to greet the 3,000 guests invited for the inauguration, according to Varanasi Divisional Commissioner Deepak Agrawal. Around 500 religious leaders and families whose houses — around 300 in total — were demolished to make way for the corridor had been invited for the event, he said.
According to the PMO, the Prime Minister “took a keen and active interest at all stages of the project”. Twenty-three buildings would be inaugurated, it said, adding that ramps and escalators had been added to make the premises accessible. While the total project cost was around ₹800 crore, the first phase construction cost ₹339 crore. The premises of the temple had been expanded from 3,000 square feet to 5 lakh square feet, the PMO said.
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