Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the Varanasi city on Saturday. He will lay the foundation stone of the international cricket stadium here. Later the PM will reach Rudraksh International Cooperation and Convention Centre (RICC) and participate in the closing ceremony of Kashi Sansad Sanskritik Mahotsav (KSSM) 2023. He will also inaugurate 16 Atal Awasiya Vidyalaya built across Uttar Pradesh during the programme. International cricket stadium in Varanasi will be a step towards realising the PM’s vision to develop modern world class sports infrastructure. The modern international cricket stadium to be built in Ganjari near Rajatalab will be developed in more than 30 acre area at a cost of about `450 crore. The thematic architecture of this stadium draws inspiration from Lord Shiva, with designs developed for crescent shaped roof covers, trident shaped flood-lights, ghat steps based seating, Belpatra shaped metallic sheets on the facade. The stadium will have a capacity of 30,000 spectators. With an aim to further enhance access to quality education, 16 Atal Awasiya Vidyalaya across UP built at a cost of about `1,115 crore, have been started exclusively for children of labourers, construction workers and orphans due to COVID-19 pandemic, with an aim to provide quality education and help in holistic development of children. Each school is constructed in an area of 10-15 acres with classrooms, sports ground, recreational areas, a mini auditorium, hostel complex, mess and residential flats for staff. These residential schools intend to eventually accommodate 1,000 students each. The PM’s vision to strengthen the cultural vibrancy of Kashi has led to the conceptualisation of Kashi Sansad Sanskritik Mahotsav. The Mahotsav witnessed the participation of more than 37,000 persons across 17 disciplines, who displayed their skills in singing, instrumental playing, nukkad natak, dancing etc. The meritorious participants will get a chance to showcase their cultural skills during the programme at RICC.
Meanwhile after the RICC, now a glimpse of Lord Shiva and Kashi will be seen in the new international cricket stadium being built in Varanasi. PM is coming to Kashi on Saturday to give a gift to the sports lovers of Purvanchal (eastern UP) an international cricket stadium in his parliamentary constituency.The cricket lovers of Purvanchal will no longer have to go far to watch international cricket matches. With the construction of an international cricket stadium at a cost of `451 crore, along with watching the matches, the basic infrastructure for international cricketers will also be ready. The cricket legends, Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar, are likely to attend the foundation stone laying ceremony of the stadium. In this project, the Yogi government has spent `121 crore on land acquisition while the BCCI will spend `330 crore to construct the stadium. This stadium will be ready in about 30 months near Ring Road in Ganjari village of Rajatalab area of the district. The double engine government is continuously playing a positive role in the rejuvenation of Kashi. Along with implementing PM’s schemes in Kashi, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath himself has been inspecting from time to time to ensure that all the work is done properly. In the same sequence, as per the intention of the CM to build an international stadium, 30.86 acres of land worth `121 crore has been given on lease to Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) for the construction of this stadium. The PM is creating new dimensions of development to change the picture of his parliamentary constituency. The CM is giving concrete shape to development and employment related projects in Kashi. The people of Kashi had never thought that their MP would give such a big gift to Purvanchal in the form of an international cricket stadium. The state government has given this land on long-term lease to the UPCA. On this the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will build an international cricket stadium at a cost of `330 crore. The stadium with a capacity of 30,000 spectators will have seven pitches (practice and main wicket) and a state-of-the-art stadium will be constructed as per the rules of international cricket stadium. The stadium is likely to be ready by December 2025. When international matches are held in the international cricket stadium, the glory of the stadium based on spirituality and religious architecture built in Kashi will be visible to the whole world through live telecast on TV. The shape of the stadium will be half-moon shaped, in which the floodlights installed will be in the shape of a trident. The design of belpatra will be seen in the building, while the shape of damru will also be visible in the design. There will be a spectator gallery like the stairs of Ganga Ghat. Before this, the RICC built in Kashi was constructed in the shape of Shivling, which has 108 Rudraksha beads. Many legendary cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Dilip Vengsarkar are likely to be present in the foundation stone laying ceremony. BCCI President Roger Binny, Vice- President Rajiv Shukla, Secretary Jai Shah will also be present in this programme. After Kanpur and Lucknow, this will be the third international cricket stadium of UP in the form of Kashi, which will give an opportunity to the cricket players of not only Varanasi and Purvanchal but also Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to hone their talent and join the Indian cricket team.