South Indian businessman donates gold weighing as much PM Modi's mother to Kashi temple

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's amazing renovation of Kashi Vishwanath Temple, the sanctum sanctorum is preparing for another 'historic' link with him and his family, and it's none other than his mother.

The Kashi corridor was just opened, and the sacred shrine is currently being beautified. The sanctum's inner walls are being adorned and ornamented with gold. Interestingly, gold equal to the weight of PM Modi's mother is being utilised to beautify the temple's interior walls.

A businessman from South India is said to have contributed 60 kilogrammes of gold to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. Around 37 kg of this gold was utilised to decorate the interior complex (garba-griha), while the remaining 23 kg will be used to decorate the lower section of the main structure's golden dome.

The businessman has opted to stay anonymous, but the gold plating on the inside walls attracted public notice when PM Modi visited the Lok Sabha constituency last Sunday and performed prayers at the temple.

According to media reports, the Varanasi divisional commissioner confirmed the story of 37-kilogramme gold plating on the inner walls of the sanctum sanctorum. According to sources, Modi was informed about the gold plate contribution and was seen the job done after the rituals were completed. Approximately, ten employees finished the job in 30 hours.

This is the temple's second significant goldwork project since the 18th century. Mughals destroyed the temple, rebuilt in 1977 by Indore's Holkar queen Maharani Ahilyabai. Maharaja Ranjit Singh gave one tonne of gold, which was used to cover the temple's two domes. The development of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor last year opened up new avenues of religious tourism for the holy shrine. The Yogi government closely oversaw the project, which was completed at the cost of Rs 900 crore.

• PM Modi
• Kashi temple
• gold