Ground breaking ceremony held for new Rs 97 Cr VMC building

Varanasi: Bhumipujan (groundbreaking) ceremony was performed ahead of beginning construction of multi-storey Varanasi Municipal Corporation building on Wednesday. A budget of Rs 96.99 crore has been allocated for the building which will be ready in 18 months.Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid foundation of the building on Apr 28. The proposed shivling-shaped building will also comprise the house for VMC’s elected local body.After performing the rituals, mayor Ashok Tiwari said the construction of the state-of-the-art VMC building has been started by C&S, the executing agency.The proposed building will not only serve as administrative centre but also be a symbol of Kashi’s cultural significance. The main attraction of this G+4 (4-storey) building, to be constructed over an area of 22,000 square metres, is that it is designed in the shape of shivling and will be developed on the theme of Ganga and Kashi.It will house separate chambers for mayor and councillors and administrative wing, along with dedicated sections for animal husbandry, engineering and licence departments. A world-class control room will be set up in the building, from where activities across the entire city can be monitored and information can be exchanged swiftly. In addition to the hi-tech control room, the campus will be equipped with underground parking, lifts, canteen, bank, post office, police chowki and a record room.Municipal commissioner Himanshu Nagpal said during first phase, construction of ground floor with three storeys (G+4) has been proposed. Keeping future requirements in view, foundation has been laid for G+7 (seven floors) as more floor would be built as per need. The project, spread over 70,000 square feet, incorporates modern technologies such as a data server centre, PR centre, CCTV security and rainwater harvesting.After the construction of Rudraksh Convention Centre, VMC’s house was being run in a makeshift arrangement at the Town Hall. This caused considerable inconvenience to officials and corporators. The new building will have a large house with 300 seats and a conference hall.