PM lays foundation stone of Kashi Vishwanath Temple corridor, attends National Women Livelihood Meet in Varanasi

Prime Minister Narendra on Friday began the visit to his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi by offering prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and laid the foundation stone for an extension and beautification project of the temple.

"Began my Kashi visit by praying at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, a symbol of our culture's pride. In the Temple complex, performed the Bhumipujan of Vishwanath Dham project, a futuristic corridor around the Temple that will benefit several pilgrims and tourists coming to Kashi," Modi said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and state governor Ram Naik also accompanied Modi.

Calling the project his long-standing dream, the Prime Minister targetted the previous Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh for delaying the project.

"If I had got the cooperation of the state government in the first three years, we would probably have been inaugurating this project today. However, the first three years we had a non-cooperative environment. After Yogi Adityanath took charge of the state dispensation the development of Kashi is progressing with great efficiency," Modi said.

The 'Kashi Vishwanath Mandir Vistarikaran-Saundarayakaran Yojana' (Kashi Vishwanath Temple Extension and Beautification Plan) is an ambitious project that includes approach roads and beautification spread over around 39 thousand square metres at Baba Vishwanath temple and nearby areas.

With the construction of this corridor, the temple complex will get direct connectivity with the river Ganga.

The Prime Minister also attended National Women Livelihood Meet and spoke about the initiatives taken by his government in order to uplift the women in society.

"Mudra Loans were given to 15 crore people across India, out which 11 crores were women entrepreneurs. In Uttar Pradesh alone, 1.25 crore people were given loans of which 86 lakh were women," he said while in his address.

The Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana or PMMY is a flagship scheme of the Government of India to extend affordable credit to micro and small enterprises. Mudra loans are designed to bring enterprises into the formal financial system, or to "fund the unfunded".

One of the key benefits of a Mudra loan is that borrowers are not required to provide security or collateral. Additionally, there are no processing charges on Mudra loans.

"We have also started a program aiming to provide solar study lamps to school going children. The program not only helped children to study in their home but also provided income to the women manufacturers," he added.

The Solar Study Lamp is the scheme of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India for distribution of 7 Million solar study lamps for school going children in the States viz. Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha where household grid connectivity is less than 50 per cent as per the 2011 Census.

The Prime Minister said that his government is committed to women empowerment. At every stage of their life, we will provide them with protection, security and empowerment.