RSS leader Indresh Kumar visits Kashi Vishwanath Temple along with Dalits, tribals
Mar 31, 2022
Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 31 : Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Indresh Kumar on Thursday visited Kashi Vishwanath Temple here along with 51 Dalits and tribals.
"Revolution to bring unity and harmony has started in the country. Now every village city will chant 'chalo Kashi Vishwanath darwar' and dalit, tribal, minority etc will visit Kashi, Ayodhya and Mathura," he said.
Kashi's Chief priest Avadh Kishor Das represented priests of Varanasi, Laxmina Devi led Dalit women, Kishan Banvasi represented Musahar community and Naznin Ansari led the minority group.
After the visit, Kishan Banvasi got emotional and said, "Why we were kept out of Kashi Vishwanath baba? We are blessed to visit here and Mushar community will always be thankful to Indresh Kumar."
Earlier in December last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated phase 1 of the newly-constructed Kashi Vishwanath Dham at a cost of around Rs 339 crores. The foundation stone of the project was laid by the Prime Minister on March 8, 2019. It was the vision of the Prime Minister for a long time, to facilitate the pilgrims and devotees of Baba Vishwanath, who had to encounter congested streets and surroundings with poor upkeep, when they practised the age-old custom of taking a dip in the holy river, collecting Gangajal and offering it at the temple.
To realise this vision, Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham was conceptualised as a project to create an easily accessible pathway to connect Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple to the banks of the River Ganga.
A total of 23 buildings were inaugurated in phase 1 of the project. They are providing a variety of facilities to the pilgrims visiting Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, including Yatri Suvidha Kendras, Tourist Facilitation Centre, Vedic Kendra, Mumukshu Bhavan, Bhogshala, City Museum, Viewing Gallery, Food Court, among others.
The scale of the project was such that the project is now spread over a massive area of about 5 lakh square feet, whereas earlier premises was limited to just around 3000 square feet. Despite the Covid pandemic, the work on the project was completed as per the planned schedule.
