@narendramodi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh from tomorrow where he will inaugurate Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham. The Prime Minister will visit Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple at around 1 PM tomorrow, to offer prayers, after which, he will inaugurate first phase of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham, constructed at a cost of around 339 crore rupees. A total of 23 buildings will be inaugurated in the first phase of the project. They will provide a variety of facilities to the pilgrims visiting Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, including Yatri Suvidha Kendras, Tourist Facilitation Centre, Vedic Kendra, Mumukshu Bhavan, Bhogshala, City Museum, Viewing Gallery, Food Court, among others.
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 practiced the age-old custom of taking 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 Ganga river. To kickstart the work for this pious endeavour, the foundation stone of the project was laid by Prime Minister on 8th of March in 2019.
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said tomorrow is a landmark day as the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham project will be inaugurated at a special programme in Kashi. In a tweet, the Prime Minister said this will add to Kashi’s spiritual vibrancy. He urged everyone to join tomorrow’s programme.
Kashi Vishwanath (KV) Dham will transform the area around the holy Kashi Vishwanath Temple. Before the KV Dham, the KV temple lacked direct visibility from the Ganges. The 20-25 feet wide corridor will connect Lalita Ghat on Ganges to the Mandir Chowk in the temple premises. Like ancient times, a devout Shiva bhakt can take a dip in the holy river every morning and pay his tribute to Lord Shiva in the temple, which will now have a direct visibility from the Ghat. Before the KV Dham, one had to go through multiple lanes to visit the temple from the ghat. Like ancient Temples, the KV temple will have an area of its own with a giant courtyard. Earlier, one had to go through narrow lanes to enter the premises of the temple. There was no space inside the premises even if the footfall was low.
The Prime Minister’s vision was also to ensure that all heritage structures be preserved during the course of development of the project. This foresight came 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.
During his visit to Varanasi tomorrow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also visit Kaal Bhairav Temple at around 12 noon and witness Ganga Aarti while on board a Ro-Ro Vessel at around 6 in the evening. On Tuesday, at around 3:30 PM, Mr Modi will attend the 98th anniversary celebrations of Sadguru Sadafaldeo Vihangam Yog Sansthan at Swarved Mahamandir in Varanasi.
During his two-day visit, Prime Minister will also participate in a conclave of Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, along with Deputy CMs from Bihar and Nagaland. The conclave will provide an opportunity to share governance-related best practices and is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of furthering team India spirit.
