PM Modi to inaugurate Kashi corridor project on Monday

LUCKNOW: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor amid the chanting of 'Shivarchan' at sanctum sanctorum of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in the presence of 3000 religious, spiritual gurus, priests of southern Shaivism sects and other dignitaries, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and several other CMs of the BJP-governed states, on Monday.
"Tomorrow, 13th December is a landmark day. At a special programme in Kashi, the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham project will be inaugurated. This will add to Kashi's spiritual vibrancy. I would urge you all to join tomorrow's programme," the PM tweeted on the eve of the launch.

The Rs 900-crore project which has a 400-meter long and 75-meter wide corridor will connect the Kashi Vishwanath temple with three main ghats of the Ganga. The stretch has 24 newly constructed buildings to provide top-class amenities to pilgrims.
"An outcome of the PM’s vision for Kashi, the corridor facilitates hassle-free movement of pilgrims between Ganga and the temple and paves way for development of not only Varanasi, but the entire Purvanchal region, enhancing tourism as well as business and trade and creating employment opportunities for youth from the region," said a Kashi Vishwanath Temple official.

"Prior to the construction of this corridor, the KV temple lacked direct access from the Ganga and devotees had to negotiate through narrow and congested lanes to reach the temple," he said, adding "the corridor gives Kashi a new identity of a clean and smart city while retaining its ancient cultural and spiritual heritage."
"To host the PM and other dignitaries for the opening of KVD corridor, all necessary preparations including floral decoration of the temple, Mandir Chowk and other buildings in its vicinity as well as the 400-meter corridor area from Lalita Ghat to temple has been completed," divisional commissioner and chairman of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Special Area Development Board, Deepak Agrawal, told TOI.
CM Yogi has already reached Varanasi to oversee the preparations for the mega event. All the ghats would be lit with diyas for the next three days while citizens will illuminate their houses to give the city a festive look.

Regarding the rituals to be performed by the PM, KVT chief priest Pt Shrikant Mishra said, “After reaching Lalita Ghat by boat, the PM will fetch Ganga Jal and move towards KVT on foot. PM will directly reach KVT’s sanctum sanctorum where amid chanting of Vedic Mantra by three priests, he will perform the rituals of Shivarchan to mark the opening of KVD.”
From the KVT, the PM will reach Mandir Chowk amid blowing of conch shells and sounds of 'damru' to address the gathering of seers from different parts of country, including akharas, Adheenam Sect of Tamil Nadu, Lingayats and Veershaiva, religious and spiritual gurus as well as other dignitaries. Board’s secretary and KVT chief executive officer Sunil Verma said that seating arrangements for all these guests had been made at Mandir Chowk. The testing of façade and other lighting arrangements in and around KVD had already started three-days ago and the officials checked it even with drone cameras.

The project was a big challenge which has seen the size of KVT campus grow from 3,500 square feet to 5 lakh square feet. "Over 400 houses were bought and demolished and 1400 people were rehabilitated to clear the space for the corridor," Verma says.
The PM is inaugurating the first phase of the project exactly two years and eight months after he laid the foundation on March 8, 2019. In the second phase, 27 big and over 120 small temples found during the encroachment-removal drive would be fully restored and displayed on the KVT campus.
For this great purpose, a great campaign was being run to get the information mentioned in the Upanishads, Vedas and Puranas translated into Hindi and get them printed on the walls of the Dham. Knowing the history of this city which rests on the trident of Shiva is like drinking the nectar of knowledge. This hypothesis was also not untouched from the point of view of the PM.
It was in Kashi that Ved Vyas first preached the four Vedas. There are 56 Vinayaks in Kashi. In Kashi, there are seven cities which provide salvation. The twelfth Aditya is seated in Kashi. There are five pilgrimages in Kashi. The details of all these will be accessible in the Dham. Apart from this, the establishment of Manikarnika shrine in Kashi, the first Shiva praise of Dhundhiraj Ganesha, the establishment of Ashta Bhairav, the sending of 64 yoginis of Lord Shankar to Kashi, Kashi resting on the trident of Baba Vishwanath, the establishment of the Asta matrikas of Bholenath and description of the great poet Kalidas will also be on the plaques of this Dham. The seed of Prime Minister Modi's resolve behind the Kashi Vishwanath Dham has now turned into a tree of faith. The coming generations of Shiva devotees will continue to prosper under the shade of this banyan tree for centuries.