Up to 302 Hindus are cremated daily in the northern Indian city of Varanasi, also known as Banaras, according to one official count. But that could change once wide pathways are built to link the maze of giant riverside funeral zones to a city-centre temple.
The 43-million-Euro project officially kicked off in January this year after authorities flattened nearly 300 private buildings in its path.
Modi’s clean-up project
The revamp, which also aims to provide trouble-free access to the Ganges and the landmark Kashi Vishwanath temple (Golden temple) by 2021, is one of the pet projects of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s to beautify the cluttered city of 2,300 temples – the most sacred place on earth for Hindus which once was a military garrison when India was a colony of the British.
Just after coming to power 2014, Modi promised 2.5 billion euros to clean up the Ganges, arguably one of Asia’s dirtiest rivers.
Many experts say the project remains clogged in bureaucratic red tape but the Hindu nationalist prime minister is determined to clean up at least the patch flowing past Varanasi, his home borough.
Since 2018, India has spent hundreds of thousands of euros to modernise Varanasi’s decrepit drainage system that directs all the city’s waste directly into the Ganges and other local waters.
Last May, Modi was re-elected for a second time, with a major boost of votes, nearly half a million, coming from Varanasi. Proof that the primarily Hindu population still had faith in his promise of transforming the city.
Controversy
But not everyone is happy.
Of Varanasi’s 1.2 million many argue that several heritage temples were either destroyed or damaged during the demolition. City store owners, who once ran thriving businesses, say the project threatens their livelihoods.
The government denies the allegations.
Builders say, however, that these businesses will once again flourish after Varanasi gets a touch of modernity.
Ancient rituals
Hindus believe that those cremated in Varanasi are liberated from the cycle of life and death. And although the final rites are performed by family priests, the open-air wooden pyres are set afire by Doms, who are at the lowest rung of Hinduism’s rigid caste hierarchy.
For centuries, India’s old and sick have made their way to Varanasi to die on the banks of the Ganges. ‘Death homes’ are reserved for those who want to end their time in the sacred city. Often, relatives accompany the aged, who wait patiently in their homes for their day of salvation.
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