LUCKNOW: With the restoration and development work at the Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi gaining momentum, Kashi locals are accusing the district administration of desecration of idols inside some of the structures demolished.
The administration, however, denied the charges, explaining that the stone pieces containing idols carved on them, being shown with false claims, were not of deities but the artwork on the walls of the structure known as Madhi (platform). The administration said that those structures, including an image of Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar, who is credited with rebuilding the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and restoring the Manikarnika Ghat in the 18th century, were preserved to be made a part of the walls of the new structure of the rejuvenated ghat.
A video of the demolition exercise has been doing rounds on social media showing a big earthmover demolishing a stone structure at the Manikarnika Ghat project site, claiming that idols of deities were being desecrated. The video shows the protests not only from locals but also in Indore, the erstwhile kingdom of Ahilyabai Holkar. The protester fury prompted the Varanasi Municipal Corporation, police and district administration to take stock of the site.
A group of Kashi locals, led by Pal community’s national president Mahendra Pal Pintu, protested at the spot where the structure comprising the nearly 100-year-old statue of Devi Ahilyabhai Holkar was allegedly demolished. “We demanded that the statue of Devi Ahilyabai Holkar be reinstalled at the same location,” said Pal, the state committee member of the Samajwadi Party. The protesters were led by Mahendra Pal Pintu since Ahilyabai Holkar was deeply connected to the Pal (Gadariya) community as they consider her a revered ancestor.
Varanasi DM Satyendra Kumar said the idols of the deities and Shivlingas were already kept at safe places.