The Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor will have a giant platform that will enable a panoramic view of the Ganga river and the Ghats on one side and the entire corridor area on the other side.
The platform is being referred to as ‘Ganga View Gallery’ in the project.
The addition of the new feature has been possible after the dilapidated buildings purchased recently were razed. The huge space created by the demolition has provided the leeway to make some changes in the approved design of the corridor project even after the completion of over 30 percent of the construction.
According to divisional commissioner Deepak Agrawal, “The razing of an old building has created a huge space near the ghats, enabling a straight alignment of approach road from ghats to Kashi Vishwanath Temple (KVT). Now, the alignment has been changed and the approach road and ramp for physically challenged and elderly pilgrims have become straight from entry point at ghat to highest flood point where escalator facility will be available.”
He further said, “We will now construct ‘Ganga View Gallery’ – an 80m long and 11m wide platform – in the additional space for the pilgrims and visitors providing them a view of the Ganga and the corridor area. Proposals for a cafeteria and seating arrangements on it are being finalized.”
Another platform will also be constructed near ghats and steps in pyramid shape will be constructed, between both platforms.
The lower platform will be used for Ganga ‘aarti’ and cultural events and will make the landing of visitors coming via jetty also convenient.”
On possibility of an escalation in project cost due to the changes in design, the commissioner said, “The projected cost for the construction works of the project is Rs 339 crore. The changes in design are not major and will not push it above the permissible limit of increase in project cost.”
Earlier, the unearthing of several temples on razing the buildings bought for the project had led to a change of design of the corridor. The size of the multipurpose hall had to be curtailed while Vedic Centre’s building was divided into two parts, he said.
The VK Dham project had come into the pipeline immediately after Yogi Adityanath became chief minister and sanctioned the budget for it in December 2017.
As many as 296 buildings were purchased and razed for the Rs 700 crore project being developed in five lakh square meters to link KVT with Ganga through a 75-meter-wide corridor.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation of this project on March 8, 2019. The project is scheduled to complete by August-end this year.
