Varanasi: With financial and administrative approval given by state cabinet on Tuesday to the proposal of widening Dalmandi Road for easy access to Gate no. 4 of Kashi Vishwanath Dham from Naisadak, district administration will soon begin process of valuation of 184 identified buildings to assess compensation amount to be distributed. On Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s directives, work on this Rs 215.88 crore project will commence immediately after the end of monsoon. Marking on the buildings has begun.During its Tuesday meeting in Lucknow, state cabinet gave financial and administrative approval to the proposal of Rs 23.99 crore for civil work and utility shifting of this ambitious project, which will cost Rs 215.88 crore, including around Rs 200 crore sanctioned for distribution as compensation, said district magistrate Satyendra Kumar, adding that the survey of buildings, which will be affected during the process of taking them either through negotiation or acquisition, was completed.The valuation of identified buildings and properties will start immediately by the committee to be formed by him in a day or two, he said, adding that with the beginning of the valuation process, the distribution of compensation amounts to the building owners will also start. He said all work will be completed before the end of monsoon, while removal of purchased or acquired buildings will start immediately after monsoon to begin utility shifting and road construction. The project will convert the 650-metre-long Dalmandi, a narrow street full of bottlenecks, into a 17.4-metre-wide passage to allow pilgrims direct access to Gate 4 of Kashi Vishwanath Dham from Naisadak, located in the middle of the Lahurabir-Beniabagh-Girjaghar crossing road.According to the project executing agency PWD, around 184 buildings have been identified for removal for this project, which aims to reduce the load of pilgrims from the Godowlia-Maidagin road. The proposal to widen the Dalmandi-Chowk police station road for accessing Gate No. 4 of KV Dham was approved by state govt in the 2023-24 financial year, and PWD was asked to conduct a survey to know the number of buildings to be removed. During his Apr 3 and Jul 17 meetings with officials here, the CM directed swift action in road widening in Dalmandi and ensured beginning of this project immediately after monsoon.Currently, the 650-metre stretch between Naisadak and Chowk police station on Dalmandi Road is about 4 metres wide in some places, 2.5 metres in others and around 5 metres wide in certain parts.PWD stated, “In the proposed project, this street’s width is going to be expanded to 10 metres. Apart from a carriageway that is 10 metres wide with a blacktop, a 3.2-metre footpath on both the left and right sides will be created. All utilities and lines, including electricity, sewer, and water pipelines, will be routed under the footpath, resulting in a total width of 17.4 metres.”
