The entire Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor project is "litigation-free," said Varanasi commissioner Deepak Agarwal in a media briefing on architectural insights on the project. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate the project on December 13.
The Kashi Vishwanath Dham project in Varanasi seeks to decongest the area around the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple by linking the Lalita Ghat on the river bank to the main temple with a paved walkway and a precinct area with gates. The temple corridor's foundation stone was laid in March 2019, and now covers an area of five lakh sq feet with 24 new buildings, a 30,000 sq mt pathway leading to the Ganges and toilet facilities with 190 odd seats, including a "disabled-friendly" ramp from the ghat all the way to the temple. Some 55,000 people can now circulate in the new temple premises at any given point.
There were, however, several complaints reported about demolition of small and medium-sized temples in residential areas alongside forced clearance of shops and "bhavans" to make way for the project. Unequal amounts of compensation to owners were also reported, including fears of communal flare-ups.
Methods of mutual negotiation by a three-level committee were adopted to recompense each of the property owners (private, trust-owned, custodian holders). Giving a breakdown of the money spent on rehabilitation, Agarwal said Rs 390 crore was spent on the purchase of the many buildings which fell in the master plan designed by Bimal Patel of HCP design—also behind the redevelopment of the Central Vista in New Delhi.
Some 1,400 shopkeepers, street-vendors and households have been compensated with Rs 70 crore. "Smaller temples have been included in the project. Our consultants tweaked their design plan and accommodated all the temples," said Agarwal.
He said the main temple was never closed during the construction, and refuted "myths and rumours" circulating on social media on the demolition of many smaller temples in the densely inhabited area. "We don't have a single case in any court against this project right now."
"Nothing has been changed in the original temple, " said Patel who offered a peek into the architectural features of the new processional route for pilgrims coming in from the Ganges in a boat. "You ascend a pyramid of steps after getting off the boat and reach the gateway of the precinct. There is a second gateway where the Shikhar of the KV temple is visible."
The heart of the temple precinct is an "ambulatory space" done ornately in Mirzapur stone and the entire aesthetic of the corridor project is like a "gradual reveal of your destination."
The Rs 800 crore temple corridor project is expected to be a key milestone showcase for the Yogi Adityanath government in the run-up to the UP elections.
