Varanasi awaits big announcements during PM Narendra Modi's visit

VARANASI: The temple town is buzzing with excitement ahead of Narendra Modi’s maiden visit on Friday to his constituency after becoming the prime minister.

Residents of the city are waiting for some big announcements. Lady luck has already smiled on the Jayapur village that will be formally adopted by the PM under the ‘ Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana’. Modi will also interact with villagers and may make a short public speech.

The PM will also lay the foundation stone of a Weavers Trade Facilitation Centre and a crafts museum aimed at uplifting the lot of weavers and craftsmen.

The weavers’ centre would work as a centre for design and production of handlooms. It will also function as a platform for small weavers to directly sell their produce to big buyers, eliminating middlemen and increasing their profit.

Interestingly, majority of the weavers hail from the Muslim community, making intricate Banarasi zari sarees. Many OBCs are also involved in the ancient art of weaving.

Although no official confirmation was forthcoming, Modi was likely to formally announce the opening up of the 1,602-km-long ‘Allahabad to Haldia via Varanasi’ waterway. Some vessels have already sailed on a trial basis on the route, which is operational only till outer Ramnagar in Varanasi. He may also elaborate on the Varanasi-Kyoto pact between the two ancient cities of India and Japan to develop them with modern tech while leaving their ancient heritage untouched.