Kashi Vishwanath Temple: Corridor of faith
The inauguration of the new Kashi Vishwanath Temple corridor by the prime minister at a cost of Rs. 800 crore is a boon for pilgrims and a boost for the BJP with polls nigh.
In February 2018, Mayank Agarwal, a 42-year-old bank worker from Lucknow’s Rajajipuram, had taken his elderly parents to Varanasi. They had hoped for darshan at the Kashi Vishwanath temple on February 13, on the occasion of Mahashivratri. However, despite reaching Varanasi a day early and leaving for the temple at 6 am, Agarwal found it impossible to fulfil his parents’ wishes. “It was not possible for my parents, who are over 70, to brave the crowds for too long. There were also problems because of the lack of toilets and other facilities. After spending some time trying to make our way to the temple, we went to Maidagin chowk, and did darshan of Baba Vishwanath on the LED screen there.”
Kashi Vishwanath corridor
Rising from the banks of the Ganga, the Kashi Vishwanath corridor. 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.
The mega facelift project built across 550,000 sq. ft comprises 24 buildings that include an emporium, a museum, a sacred kitchen, a Vedic library, a centre to store ancient scriptures, a city gallery, and a food court – all built around the temple that serves as one of the nerve centres of the Hindu faith, attracting seven million pilgrims annually.
The showpiece of the project is restoration of the link between the Ganga and the temple. An ancient connection that had been cut off by years of encroachment, construction and population. Officials responsible for the corridor and its architects. Once open, the corridor will enable a pilgrim to take a boat from any of Varanasi’s numerous ghats to the sprawling new entrance to the temple complex built at the confluence of the Lalita Ghat and Jalasen Ghat.
