Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said here on Saturday that more than 11 crore devotees visited Baba Vishwanath in Kashi last year.
He said they witnessed the overall development of Kashi. Since the completion of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham, Kashi alone has contributed Rs 1.3 lakh crore to the country’s GDP. New employment opportunities have been created here, CM disclosed.
Addressing a press conference here, CM Yogi said, “Today, Kashi’s roads are connected by four-lane highways. Train facilities from Kashi to various parts of the country have increased, including Vande Bharat, Amrit Bharat Express, and many other trains.”
“Along with air connectivity, inland waterways facilities, if they started anywhere, began between Varanasi and Haldia. The country’s first Ropeway project is also taking shape in Varanasi. Along with the Kashi Vishwanath Dham, the work of preserving and presenting all the sites associated with the spiritual and cultural heritage in a new form is continuously underway,” he said.
He claimed, “Kashi’s identity is defined by the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, other holy temples, and Mother Ganga. Before 2014, the water of the Ganga was not even fit for sipping, let alone bathing. Today, one can both sip and bathe in the Ganga.”