Mathura (UP), Aug 22 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh government will build a dedicated corridor soon for the smooth movement of devotees from the Yamuna riverbank to the famed Bankey Bihari Temple in Mathura, state minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary said on Monday.

The corridor can accommodate more than 50,000 devotees at a time. Devotees, after taking a dip in the holy Yamuna, can directly reach the temple via the corridor, the minister for sugarcane development and sugar industry told reporters here.

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The minister said that keeping the existing ancient structure of the temple intact, the open space from where devotees pay their obeisance will also be extended.

The temple can now accommodate around 800 people at a time and after the development, the number will go up to 5,000, the minister said.

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Those giving up their land for the corridor will be given adequate compensation, he said.

He said the project will be a gift to Brijbhumi from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who was distressed by the death of two pilgrims at the temple on the day of Srikrishna Janmashtami.

Two pilgrims were killed and seven others were injured on the night of Srikrishna Janmashtami last week owing to suffocation following a stampede-like situation triggered by a heavy rush of devotees.

(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)