Rajeev DikshitVaranasi: The widening work of 650-metre-long Dalmandi Road for improving access to the Kashi Vishwanath Dham reached a crucial phase on Wednesday when authorities of five mosques began demolishing portions of their structures marked for acquisition.The mosques are among 187 properties identified for complete or partial demolition under the Rs 224-crore road-widening project. The affected mosques are Langde Hafiz Masjid, Nesaran Masjid, Rangile Shah Masjid, Ali Raza Masjid, Sangmarmar Masjid and Masjid Mirza Karimullah Beg.Wile the management of Langde Hafiz Masjid has challenged the acquisition and demolition process in the Allahabad high court, authorities of the other five mosques agreed to hand over the earmarked portions of their properties following months of negotiations with district administration officials.Officials said the properties were registered in favour of the Public Works Department (PWD) before demolition work was scheduled. The administration also waited for the conclusion of Muharram observances before proceeding.A heavy security deployment, including personnel from the police, PAC, CRPF and RAF, was put in place early Wednesday morning. The Dalmandi area was sealed off, entry points were barricaded with tin sheets, and around 200 labourers were deployed for the demolition exercise. Media access to the demolition sites was restricted.Observers from nearby buildings reported that demolition work began at Masjid Mirza Karimullah Beg, located behind the Chowk police station. Mosque representatives were seen supervising the process from rooftops. Similar activity was reported at Nesaran, Rangile Shah, Ali Raza and Sangmarmar mosques.Senior district administration and police officials remained present in and around the area, which was kept under drone surveillance. However, officials declined to comment on the proceedings.Authorities maintained that only those portions of the mosques falling within the alignment of the proposed road are being removed.Prior to Wednesday’s exercise, the PWD, Varanasi Development Authority and Varanasi Municipal Corporation had already overseen the demolition of around 150 structures. Compensation exceeding Rs 62 crore has been paid for 105 acquired properties, excluding the mosques, officials said.The project aims to widen the heavily congested Dalmandi stretch into a 17.4-metre-wide road. Officials believe the widened corridor will significantly improve access to Gate No. 4 of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham from Naisadak on the Lahurabir-Godowlia route and ease traffic pressure on the busy Maidagin-Godowlia corridor leading to the temple precinct.
