Page 40 - Mann Ki Baat - English
P. 40

Dr. Sunil Verma
                      CEO, Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust


                    Kashi Vishwanath Dham
             A Popular Destination for Devotees


        Varanasi, a city that American author Mark Twain described as “older
        than history, older than tradition, older than legend and looking twice as
        old as all of them put together”, has always been popular with tourists.
        But ever since the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor has been opened in
        December 2021 after renovation, the number of people coming here is
        continuously increasing. Now more than 10 crore tourists are reaching
        Kashi every year, which was also mentioned by the Prime Minister in
        the recent 'Mann ki Baat' programme. Doordarshan spoke to Dr. Sunil
        Verma, CEO, Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust, about the special
        arrangements made by the Trust for the devotees.

            When this Dham (Shrine)       be successfully able to make
        was being renovated, the vision   darshan possible.
        was to give a grand look to it        Since the opening of the
        and thereby enhancing some        Kashi   Vishwanath   Corridor,
        more traditional things for       the number of devotees has
        the darshan by the devotees       increased every year and this
        and increasing the services       number  increases  significantly
        permanently. Accordingly, the     on festivals and weekends. Even
        building structure was designed   on normal days, this number
        and the entire courtyard and      varies  between    1-1.5  lakh.
        paths   were   planned.   Our     Recently, on last Monday, about
        idea was that even if 10 lakh     6.5 lakh people had come here.
        devotees come on a day, we will   This number is increasing every

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