Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday performed ‘Abhishekam’ at the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple before formally inaugurating the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor complex.

PM @narendramodi begins his historic visit to #Varanasi with prayers at Baba Kaal Bhairav Mandir. In a short while he will inaugurate the completed #KashiVishwanathCorridor adding to the splendour and spirituality of #Kashi pic.twitter.com/S4zjtQssHO

— Kanchan Gupta 🇮🇳 (@KanchanGupta) December 13, 2021

Prime Minister walked from the Lalita Ghat where he had taken a holy dip in the Ganga to the temple, carrying the water of the river in a ‘kalash’.

A dream project of the Prime Minister, it was completed in a record time of 30 months at a cost of Rs 339 crore. The Kashi Vishwanath temple in its new avatar now offers an unhindered view of the Ganga River from the temple. 20-25 feet wide corridor connects Lalita Ghat on the Ganga to the Mandir Chowk in the temple premises.

Special day for us all. Inauguration of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham. https://t.co/Kcih2dI0FG

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 13, 2021

Devotees can take a dip in the holy river and offer prayers to Lord Shiva in the temple from there itself. The temple now has an area of its own with a giant courtyard.

Raja Trivikram Narain Singh donated silver doors of sanctum sanctorum of the temple. The Ausanganj state was spread over Varanasi, Jaunpur and Ghazipur. According to historians, the Kashi Vishwanath temple was first demolished in 1194 and was again attacked during the reign of Sultan Mahmud Shah of Jaunpur in 1447.