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

- ASHISH MISRA

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. All the roads leading to the temple were packed with devotees. “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.”

Many devotees tell similar stories, of being unable to visit the Kashi Vishwanath temple because of the massive crowds packing the narrow streets leading to the temple. After December 13, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the Kashi Vishwanath corridor—a sprawling construction connecting the temple to the river Ganga—this will no longer be the case. For the devout Hindu, darshan now promises to be an easier, more serene affair, with a level of ease and facilitation they could scarcely have expected earlier. Following the construction of the corridor, which began in 2019, the narrow streets have been replaced by wide avenues. The Kashi Vishwanath temple complex, which formerly occupied an area of 3,000 sq. ft, has now been expanded to a massive 500,000 sq. ft. The corridor also features modern amenities, such as ramps and escalators, to make the journey easier for pilgrims.