Team Clarion
VARANASI – Around 10,000 shops mostly belonging to Muslims are set to be demolished to expand the road leading to the Kashi Vishwanath in the Dal Mandi area of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
The decision has caused massive distress among the locals who have been running their businesses in the area for several generations. According to a report in the Hindi daily Danik Bhashkar, these shops were surveyed by the authorities. Residents said that the demolitions will leave thousands of people affected as they will lose their source of livelihood.
The demolition is part of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor Project, a massive urban infrastructure development project aimed at making the route between the temple and the Ganga Ghats relatively seamless for pilgrims.
The large-scale demolition is likely to involve hefty losses for the residents and shop owners, especially Muslims.
Previous attempts at constructing the corridor project have faced opposition concerning compensation, rehabilitation, and the long-term social implications. The local administration has countered it by arguing that the demolition was necessary to enhance connectivity and urban planning for one of the Hindu’s holiest regions.
The scale of the demolition is massive, approximately thousands of shops will be demolished to widen the roads and facilitate easier access to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. This ‘urban renewal’ plan is a large-scale endeavour aimed at modernising religious sites and also altering the socio-economic fabric of the neighbourhood.