Kashi Vishwanath Corridor gets finishing touches, set to be inaugurated on Dec 13

Finishing touches were being given to the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor connecting the Ganga and Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath temple before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to inaugurate it on December 13.

Shri Kashi Vishwanath Special Area Development Board chief executive officer Sunil Verma said 24 buildings along the corridor have been constructed and finishing touches were being given to the corridor that will be fully ready by the second week of December.

Shlokas and Vedic hymns were being carved on the walls of the buildings along the corridor, which is estimated to be worth nearly ₹1,000 crore.

Over seven million devotees and tourists visit the temple annually. On average, over 10, 000 devotees, mostly from Varanasi and the adjoining areas, visit it daily. On Mondays, over 40,000 to 50,000 people offer prayers at the temple. The number goes up to 30,00,00 on Mondays during the holy month of Shravan (July-August).

Built over 5.5 lakh square feet, the corridor has decongested the temple complex, which was earlier surrounded by buildings on three sides.

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An over 7,000 square metre temple platform for meditation for 10,000 people, seven grand entrance gates, a cafeteria, a food court, a Vedic and spiritual library, a virtual gallery, tourist centre, a multi-purpose hall, and a security hall are part of the corridor. A special sky beam light system was also being installed along the corridor.

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.