Protest erupts against demolition drive at Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi

Officials said that the drive was carried out under a redevelopment plan of Manikarnika Ghat on Tuesday.

Lucknow: A demolition drive at the iconic Manikarnika Ghat and damage to the centuries old statue of Devi Ahilyabai Holker has triggered widespread protests by the locals, who said that Kashi’s (old name of Varanasi) heritage was being damaged in the name of renovation and development.

Members of the Pal and Maratha communities staged demonstrations at the Manikarnika Ghat — one of the oldest among the 84 ghats of the river Ganga — and demanded to halt the development works there.

According to the Hindu mythology, cremation of the dead bodies at Manikarnika Ghat grants ‘moksha’ (salvation). People wait for hours to cremate the bodies of the dead there.

The protests erupted when a few videos showing a damaged statue of Devi Ahilyabai Holker, the Indore based queen who had built the Manikarnika Ghat in 1771 and later got it renovated in 1791, went viral on social media. The videos also purportedly showed some damaged idols.

The videos claimed that Kashi’s heritage was being demolished in the name of development. A group of locals reached the ghat and registered their protest over the development works.

One local resident said that a 300-year old ‘Mani’ (a stone structure) was also removed from the Ghat.

A member of the Pal community said that all the idols and statues must be preserved.

The district administration, however, refuted the claims and said that the Ghat was being renovated and that all the idols and statues were being preserved and would be reinstalled at their original places once the work was complete.

Sub-divisional magistrate Alok Verma said that there was some ‘misunderstanding’ over the renovation work which led to the confusion. ‘Prima facie it appears that the protests were the handiwork of some outside elements…..the locals are not opposing the work which is being done in their presence,’’ he added.

Sources said that the Ghat was being renovated. The development project includes construction of two community toilets, a green area, 32 cremation platforms, registration room, wood storage facility and waiting rooms.

Prime minister Narendra Modi had launched the project in 2023 but the work was stopped owing to floods.

UP Congress chief Ajai Rai accused the state government of ‘demolishing’ the heritage of Kashi on the pretext of renovation.