Mesmerising trail of devotion in works
Completion of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor will enable pilgrims to catch a glimpse of the KV temple directly from the ghats
VARANASI: Thousands of pilgrims from across the world, who come to the Kashi Vishwanath temple every day, are set to have an amazing experience, one of which being a glimpse of the temple directly from Kashi’s famous ghats.
There will be a grand gate near Lalita Ghat and a cultural centre near the adjacent Jalasen Ghat, said Vishal Singh, chief executive officer, Shri Kashi Vishwanath Special Area Development Board (SKVSADB).
Floating jetties will be set up at these two ghats, the stairs of which will be beautified and equipped with ramps and escalators.
After getting off the boats at ghats, the devotees will climb the stairs, enter the grand gate and walk through the corridor that will have a museum, meditation ground, security point, heritage library, viewers’ gallery, a cafe, ‘yatri suvidha nivas’ and many other facilities, Singh added.
At the ghats, two big TV screens will be installed and there will arrangement of live screening so that devotees can do ‘darshan’ of Baba Kashi Vishwanath at the ghats too.
These works, to make a sea change in the landscape of the K V temple area, are being undertaken under the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project that is slated to come up in five lakh sq feet area.
The Yogi Aditayanth government constituted the SKVSADB in August last year.
Singh further said: “The corridor will also have a temple Chowk, multi-purpose auditorium, ‘bhogsala’ (a kitchen for cooking prasad for Baba) and a salvation home.”
As of now, the devotees have to pass through narrow lanes and by-lanes, which stay choked on some auspicious days, especially during Shrawan, Mahashivratri and Rangbhari Ekdashi, Singh said.
But now the congested temple premises will be expanded from 2100 sq ft to 28,000 sq ft. Also, the temple, which till the beginning of 2019 was surrounded
by dilapidated buildings, now has a vast open space of 5 lakh sq ft in its east.
Old temples, which are present on the 5 lakh square feet area, will remain on either side of the corridor among the new structures.
A lot of plantation will also be done in the area, Singh said.
The corridor, an ambitious project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is worth around Rs 1,000 crore. Deadline to complete it is June 2021. So far, Rs 490 crore has already been utilized in buying and demolishing the buildings.
To make space for developing the corridor,
Shri Kashi Vishwanath Special Area Development Board has bought a total of 291 buildings, including houses, and demolished them. The area has also been levelled, he said.
Makrana marble will be used in the construction work of the corridor. A three-member team, led by Singh, says, “The best quality of Makrana marble stone will be used in construction of the corridor. We visited the marble quarries in Makrana and collected samples in order to select the top quality of marble.”
The samples were given to experts who tested them and identified the best ones among them. Now, we are going to place the order for the Makrana marble for construction of the corridor, said Singh.
According to experts, it has been observed that Makrana marbles are highly durable -- of over 500 years. That is why this marble has been finally selected for the corridor.
Singh said, “We are working with the goal of over 500-year durability in mind. Quality and sustainability have to be very high in each and every construction.”
During demolition of the houses purchased for the corridor, as many as 41 ancient temples were revealed. These temples are being preserved and beautified with the help of the Archeological Survey of India, Singh said, adding that the original look of the temples would be maintained.
Of the total 5 lakh sq ft, around 70 per cent will remain open area and have greenery. There is a proposal to plant saplings of trees of some indigenous varieties. The project will add to the glory of this ancient city.
The chief minister inspected the projected several times ever since it was planned one-and-a-half years back.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation of the project on March 8 this year. After laying the foundation, Modi said, “The foundation laying of Kashi Vishwanath corridor project is a festival of ‘mukti’ (liberation) of ‘Bhole Baba’ because he was surrounded by walls from all sides. He must be facing problem in breathing for many centuries.”
Meanwhile, locals have different views regarding the project. One Mahesh Yadav says, “The project has brought antiquity of the area to an end. Many narrow lanes have disappeared and now there is an open area.”
Pt Kamalakant Pandey says, “I think the project, after its completion, will attract more tourists. Devotees will walk to the temple comfortably through the corridor that will be spacious and have many facilities.”