Locals and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Varanasi expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for approving a project to develop a link corridor between National Highway-19 (NH-19) and the Varanasi Ring Road with riverbank connectivity along the River Ganga. They believe this initiative will attract more devotees to the holy city and create job opportunities. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by PM Modi, sanctioned the project with a total capital cost of Rs 14,447.64 crore.
The project, spanning 46.039 km, will include a six-lane elevated main carriageway, an iconic cable-stayed bridge, foot-over-bridge-cum-major bridge, loops, ramps, link roads, and service roads. It will be executed under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM), as per a Cabinet communique. BJP MLA Saurabh Srivastava praised PM Modi for the significant developments in Varanasi over the last 12 years.
Srivastava emphasized Varanasi’s status as the “cultural capital” of the world and criticized the lack of respect shown to the city by previous governments. He anticipated that the corridor, along with ring roads and a public transport ropeway, will boost the number of devotees visiting temples by about 10%. This surge in visitors is expected to raise per capita income in Varanasi, according to Srivastava.
