How Kashi Vishwanath Corridor increased tourism in Varanasi?

The Kashi Vishwanath Corridor completed one year on December 13. The Kashi Vishwanath Dham temple area received donations worth Rs 100 crore. The offerings include various precious metals like gold and silver worth ₹50 crores.

Kashi Vishwanath Corridor

According to the Times of India report, as of December 13, 2021, the temple has attracted 7.35 million pilgrims and collected donations totalling Rs 100 crores against previous records of 30-40 lakhs.

According to temple data, 4,842,716 pilgrims came to KV Dham in December 2021, while 7,459,471 visited in January, 6,856,142 in February, 7,171,163 in March, 6,587,264 in April, 6,290,511 in May 6,916,981 in June, maximum 7,681,561 in July, 6,711,499 in August, 4,013,688 in September, 3,830,643 in October, 3,870,403 in November and 1,350,000 visits in the current month until Monday.

Rs 50 crores donated received through UPI

Sunil Verma, an official with the trust that governs the running of the temple, said devotees from India and abroad offered 60kg of gold, 10kg of silver and 1,500kg of copper this year.

"40 per cent of the Rs 50 crores donated by devotees was received through online facilities like UPI (Unified Payment Interface)," Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Verma said, adding that the temple expects the influx of devotees increase in the years to come.

"The value of precious metals, including 60kg of gold, 10kg of silver, 1500kg of copper received in donation, was 50 crore rupees. Gold and other metals received as a donation were used for the gold plating of the dome and inner walls of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple", he added.

Increased tourism in Varanasi

The number of tourists arriving in Varanasi has recorded a manifold increase after the construction of the Kashi-Vishwanath Corridor.

According to figures released by the UP Government, there has been a 10-times increase in the number of tourists coming to Varanasi in the past five years. Figures released by the UP Government Department of Tourism on the influx show that from January 2017 to July 2022, a large number of domestic and international tourists visited Varanasi.

As a 'Banarasi' businessman Shashi Kumar tweets citing various news reports, 'Hotels in Kashi witnessed a growth of 124 per cent in the past year with room rates rising to Rs 1 lakh on festive occasions. A record 12 lakh people visited Kashi on Dev Deepavali, and 5 lakh on new year's day alone, expressing gratitude on behalf of everyone in Kashi.

• 70 lakh devotees visited Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Saavan Month only (July-August), the Highest ever number.

• 40% more tourists visited Kashi.

• Kashi left behind Goa as the most popular destination in India.

• 50% growth of tourists recorded at Varanasi Airport.

• Hotels in Kashi witnessed 124% growth in occupancy a via last year

• Record 12 Lakh people visited Kashi on Dev Deepawali.

• Room tariffs went up to 1 lakh per night.

• Record 5 lakh people visited Kashi on New year's day.

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