India News | Under-construction Vindhya Corridor Makes Steady Progress
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Work continues apace on Vindhya corridor project, which is being built on the lines of Kashi Vishwanath corridor project of Varanasi to boost inflow of visitors and give a push to the local economy
Mirzapur (UP), Aug 28 (PTI) Work continues apace on Vindhya corridor project, which is being built on the lines of Kashi Vishwanath corridor project of Varanasi to boost inflow of visitors and give a push to the local economy
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had laid the foundation stone of the Vindhya corridor project on August 1, 2021
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The ambitious undertaking, coming at an estimated cost of Rs 331 crore, is expected to give a boost to the local economy which is mainly dependent on visitors from different parts of the country to the revered Shakti Peeth here.
The people of this area had long been demanding the setting up of some industries, especially after 1989 when Sonbhadra district was carved out of Mirzapur and all the major industries of the area had gone into the new district.
Faced with a lack of opportunities to make a living, local youths gradually moved out and settled elsewhere for livelihood.
According to a popular belief, the pilgrimage to the Vindhanyachal dham is incomplete until one performs the darshan-puja of all the three temples here.
In 2017, when the BJP came into power in the state, the government planned to make the Vindhyachal Dham a major pilgrim centre.
Coming up along the lines of Kashi, the Vindhya corridor was envisaged to give a massive push to tourism and employment.
The plan involves construction of a 50-foot-wide corridor lined with shops and other establishments around the temple, which will not only provide direct and indirect employment to the people here but will also increase the income of the government, City Magistrate Vinay Kumar told PTI.
Hotels, lodges, and dharamshalas will earn more with visitors' flow to the temples and surrounding areas, he said.
As part of the plan outlay, 522 assets have been acquired by the district administration at a cost of about Rs 96 crore under the project.
The project also envisions a grand parkota, a grand gate, wide roads with lights, and ‘ghats' which will not only provide better facilities to the visitors but also encourage them to see other historical and delightful places, Kumar said.
City MLA Ratnakar Mishra said that at present 60,000 to 70,000 people come every day for darshan here, and after the completion of the project this number is expected to reach 5 lakh per day.
Mishra said that with more traffic, there will be more GST collection, more sale of tickets for bus and train, and the municipality will also get more through water and house tax, among other revenues.
A senior official said that the corridor will be built covering the three points of Vindhyachal, Kali Khoh and Ashtabhuja temples spread over an area of about 20 square km.
At present, construction work is underway on ghats and roads and pillars, some of which have been erected.
Mirzapur-Vindhyachal are two towns under the same Municipal Corporation which are separated by the Ojla river which flows through the two towns to fall in the Ganga river.
The construction of the corridor is also expected to help Mirzapur city,according to some.
Social worker Dilip Srivastava said it will be easier to reach the temple once Vindhyachal and Mirzapur cities are connected with the 6.5-kilometre-long and about 8-metre-wide road, which is a part of the project.
Vinay Aggarwal, A leading businessman from Mirzapur Nagar, surmised that “the brass utensil industry and carpet industry will also benefit” with the increased tourist traffic.
Speaking on the importance of the Vindhaychal dham, president of Vindhya Panda (priest) Samaj Pankaj Dwivedi said “the importance of the triangle of Vindhyachal temple is also mentioned in detail in the Devi Purana.”
“The 1.3 km long road from Vindhyachal to Kali Khoh will be connected to a 50-foot-wide road and after that the Ashtabhuja temple and the road to the Ashtabhuja temple will also be widened. The Ashtabhuja temple will undergo a beautification too,” he said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)