PM Modi to visit Varanasi today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Varanasi on Monday and dedicate to the nation the six-lane widening project of the Handia (Prayagraj) - Rajatalab (Varanasi) section of National Highway 19.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Varanasi on Monday and dedicate to the nation the six-lane widening project of the Handia (Prayagraj) - Rajatalab (Varanasi) section of National Highway 19. During the tour, the Prime Minister will attend Dev Deepawali, undertake a site visit of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple corridor project, and also visit the Sarnath archaeological site.

The 73 km stretch of the newly widened and six-laned NH-19, made with a total outlay of Rs 2,447 crore, is expected to reduce the travel time between Prayagraj and Varanasi by one hour. Dev Deepawali, which has become a world-famous festival of light and fervor in Varanasi, is celebrated on every Poornima of the Kartik month.

The festival will be started by the Prime Minister by lighting a Diya (lamp) on the Raj Ghat of Varanasi, which will be followed by lighting of 11 lakh diyas on both sides of Ganga. During the visit, the Prime Minister will also undertake a site visit of the under-construction Kashi Vishwanath Temple corridor project to review its progress. He will also see the Light and Sound Show at the archaeological site of Sarnath, which had been inaugurated by him earlier this month. (ANI)