Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor on Monday, which will connect the temple to the banks of the Ganga river.

From massive murals depicting art and cultural heritage of Benares to illumination of several buildings near the Kashi Vishwanath temple site, Varanasi is all decked up to welcome the Prime Minister. The main event will be the inauguration of the phase one of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham constructed at a cost of around Rs 339 crore.

PM Modi will dedicate to people the ambitious Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in the heart of Varanasi after offering prayers at the ancient temple that draws massive number of visitors from India and abroad.

A total of 23 buildings will be inaugurated in the phase one of the project, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement. These will provide a variety of facilities to pilgrims, including suvidha kendras, tourist facilitation centre, vedic kendra, mumukshu bhavan, bhogshala, city museum, viewing gallery and food court, among others.

The project is spread over an area of about five lakh square feet, whereas earlier premises were limited to just nearly 3,000 square feet.

Despite the Covid pandemic, the work on the project has been completed on schedule, the PMO said. Posters have been put up on ornate lampposts in streets near the iconic temple--one of the 12 Jyotirlingas-- hailing Modi for "realising the vision of this project".

The current structure of the temple was constructed by Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar around 1780 and in the 19th century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh had got it crowned with a golden shikhar.

More than 3,000 seers, noted personalities and artistes have assembled at the venue to witness the inauguration on December 13.

(Edited by : Bivekananda Biswas)

First Published:Dec 13, 2021 7:06 AM IST