Nearly 200 police personnel, paramilitary units, and administrative officers fanned out across the lanes and drone cameras buzzed overhead
NEW DELHI — After a short Eid Al-Adha (Bakrid) breather, the bulldozers were back in Varanasi’s historic Dalmandi on Saturday. The PWD’s road-widening push resumed with force, and by evening, the skyline looked a little different — more than 60 buildings, including six mosques, were reduced to rubble.
Officials say 15 houses came down on Saturday alone, though some on-the-ground reports put the number closer to 18 — a mix of three old structures and 15 freshly marked ones.
Nearly 200 police personnel, paramilitary units, and administrative officers fanned out across the lanes, with ACP Dashashwamedh Atul Anjan overseeing the operation. Drone cameras buzzed overhead, keeping watch while excavators did their job.
“Adequate force was in place so the PWD’s work under the Dalmandi project could proceed peacefully. The situation stayed completely normal,” ACP Atul Anjan said.
The demolition drive was shelved temporarily for Eid Al-Adha. With the festival wrapped up, crews returned. PWD officials stressed that every property owner had been compensated, and registry and legal boxes were ticked before a single wall fell.
So far, the tally stands at 60+ homes demolished, with work ongoing. In total, 181 buildings are marked for removal — a number that’s slowly shrinking as the drive moves phase by phase. Officials expect the pace to pick up in the coming days.
Think of Dalmandi as Varanasi’s pulsing, crowded heart — narrow lanes, wall-to-wall shops, and traffic that barely crawls. The redevelopment plan, announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, aims to change that.
The blueprint: stretch the 650-metre run from Nayi Sadak to Chowk police station into a 60-foot-wide corridor. That means a 30-foot carriageway flanked by 15-foot footpaths on each side. Overhead, the tangle of electricity wires, sewers, and water lines will go underground — cleaner skies, fewer jams.
The project cost is roughly ₹215.88 crore, funded by the Uttar Pradesh government. Of that, about ₹191 crore is earmarked as compensation for 186 building and shop owners in the path of the new road.
PWD teams measured every structure to see how much land the road would claim. Based on that, compensation was calculated, registries were completed, and only then did demolition begin.
Six mosques also fall within the affected zone, officials confirmed. The administration insists all actions are following due legal process, with close monitoring to avoid disruption to public order.
Authorities believe that once completed, the project will ease traffic congestion in Dalmandi and improve business activity in the historic market area.
“The campaign is in its final stage. The entire area will have a new look soon,” an official said.
