PM to visit Varanasi and inaugurate Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham on 13 December.
The project will realise PM’s vision to create an easily accessible pathway connecting Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple to the banks of the River Ganga.
More than 40 ancient temples have been rediscovered, restored and beautified.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will visit Varanasi on 13-14 December. At around 1 PM on 13 December, Prime Minister will visit Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple and offer prayers, after which he will inaugurate phase 1 of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham, constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crores.
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 a dip in the holy river, collecting Gangajal and offering it at the temple. To realise this vision, Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham was conceptualised as a project to create an easily accessible pathway to connect Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple to the banks of the River Ganga. To kickstart the work for this pious endeavour, the foundation stone of the project was laid by the Prime Minister on 8th March 2019.
Prime Minister took a keen and active interest at all stages of the project. Regular briefings, reviews and monitoring were done by the Prime Minister himself, and he constantly gave inputs and insights to improve the project and make it more accessible for pilgrims, including for the disabled. The project was designed to provide easy access for the disabled and old age people with the provision of ramps, escalators, and other modern facilities.
Prime Minister’s vision was also to ensure that all heritage structures be preserved during the course of the development of the project. This foresight came in handy when, during the process of destruction of the old properties, more than 40 ancient temples were rediscovered. These temples have been restored and beautified while ensuring that there is no change in the original structure.
The scale of the project was such that the project is now spread over a massive area of about 5 lakh square feet, whereas earlier premises was limited to just around 3000 square feet. Despite the Covid pandemic, the work on the project has been completed as per the planned schedule.
During the visit to Varanasi, the Prime Minister will also visit Kaal Bhairav Temple at around 12 noon and witness Ganga Aarti while onboarding a Ro-Ro Vessel at around 6 PM on 13 December.
