The grand Kashi Vishwanath Corridor Project has neared completion in a time-bound manner with utmost transparency as per the directives issued by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to realise the vision of the Prime Minister of restoring the ancient glory of Kashi, said Varanasi divisional commissioner Deepak Agarwal on Wednesday.

While speaking to the media persons on Wednesday, Deepak Agarwal informed that “Built over a sprawling area of 5,000 hectares, the corridor has decongested the temple complex, which was earlier surrounded by buildings on three sides. The project will connect the two things Varanasi is well known for, one is the Kashi Vishwanath Temple (KVT) and the Ganga river.”

Giving out the details of the project, Agarwal further explained that when the project was conceptualised it was considered an impossible thing considering the dense structure of the temple premises, however, with the organised and dedicated efforts of both the Centre and the state governments, despite two waves of the Covid-19 pandemic, the entire process is being completed in record time with utmost transparency.

“To start with, the Kashi Vishwanath Special Area Development Board (KVSADB) was entrusted with the task of planning and execution of the project. The project was taken forward on a war-footing basis right from getting the properties vacated to compensating the owners,” said Deepak Agarwal, highlighting that, “the execution of the project was done in the most transparent manner, as a result of which the project faced no litigations.”

The demolition of buildings around the temple led to the recovery of at least 40 very ancient temples. All those ancient temples were buried under other construction around them and people had built kitchens, bathrooms and much more atop those temples.

Centuries-old ancient temples, earlier hidden, are now visible, they will be preserved and will be opened to the public.

Another area of concern was a direct link between Kashi Vishwanath Temple (KVT) and the Ganga river. Now with a direct link between the temple and the Ganga river, one can reach the temple premises within minutes, without going around in the lanes.

The will give Kashi Vishwanath Temple complex a brand-new look and more space. Once situated in the congested space among the surrounding buildings, the temple complex will now have an area of its own.

The architect of the project, Bimal Patel, informed that without tampering with the original structure of the temple, apart from the beautification, the facilities for the tourists have been increased.

“The work includes construction of Temple Chowk, Varanasi city gallery, museum, multipurpose auditoriums, hall, devotee facilitation centre, public convenience, salvation home, Godowlia gate, Bhogshala, shelter for priests and sevadars, spiritual book space, and others. About 70% of the 5.50 lakh sqft area of the project would be kept open for the green cover,” informed Patel.

“We worked to fulfil the PM’s vision of reorganizing the temple premises to restore its grandeur,” added Patel.

Bimal Patel went on to say that PM’s vision was to enable devotees to take water from ganges to the temple and we worked to reorganize the temple premises to restore its grandeur. “Aisa raasta banaye jisse mann prafullit ho jaaye the PM said.”

The Divisional Commissioner further informed that a total of nearly Rs 800 crore has been spent on the entire project which includes Rs 70 crore which was spent on the rehabilitation of people living in the said area.

Giving out the details, Agarwal added that, “Even during the time the construction was going on, no entry was prohibited to the site to enable transparency and public participation.”

Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation of the corridor in March 2019. Over 300 buildings were purchased and demolished to create the space for the project. The Uttar Pradesh government constituted the board to expedite the work on it. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has inspected the work on it three dozen times.

The idea is to preserve existing heritage structures, provide new facilities in the temple complex in the public-private partnership mode, ease the traffic and movement of people around the temple and connect the temple with Ghats with direct visibility. Hundreds of small temples have been made a part of the corridor.

The project ensures easy pedestrian movement for pilgrims with the least wait, travel and walking time, and comfortable holding zones, as well as crowd management and emergency operational procedures and better experiences around the religious rituals.