Annapurna idol from Canada to be installed in one of 7 temples in KVT

Varanasi: The idol of Goddess Annapurna that will be arriving next week after being returned by Canada will be installed in one of the seven temples to be set up in the Kashi Vishwanath Dham (corridor) area, following which there will be two temples of the goddess in the extended Kashi Vishwanath temple premises.
One revered temple of Goddess Annapurna already exists near the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
Divisional commissioner Deepak Agrawal told TOI on Sunday, “The ancient idol that has been returned by Canada will be installed in one of the seven temples coming up on the KV Dham premises. These temples have been designed to reinstall the idols preserved during the campus expansion. The date for ‘pran pratistha’ (consecration) of the idol has been fixed as November 15 and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will attend the ceremony.”
The idols of Goddess Parvati, Lord Ganesh, Lord Hanuman and Lord Satyanarayan, which were preserved when the construction of KV Dham started for expansion of KVT premises, will also be installed in these temples, he added.
The dates of the reinstallation of these idols are being decided. These seven temples are prefabricated and will be placed in KV Dham soon, said officials.
The stone idol of Goddess Annapurna had been stolen from Kashi and smuggled to Canada a century ago. In his Mann Ki Baat on November 29, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the return of this idol from Canada, mentioning it was stolen from a temple of Varanasi and smuggled out somewhere around 1913.
Agrawal said the idol will be brought from New Delhi to Varanasi by road and will reach the city by November 14 night.
Officials have also geared up preparations for early completion of restoration of 27 temples unearthed during removal of buildings for KV Dham project as well as reinstallation of idols and artefacts found in the process.
The Shanidev temple and Shiv Kutcheri outside the southern wall of KVT premises will also be restored.
“A Devasthanam (Dev Gallery) is also being created. It will accommodate 27 idols and the artefacts recovered from different buildings. The restoration of 27 temples has also been started,” the commissioner added.