Relish Banarasi flavours, other Indian cuisines at Dashaswamedh Bhawan

Varanasi: After remaining the dark sport for over 33 years before it’s inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2022, the Dashaswamedh Bhawan (complex) is all set to cater traditional Indian cuisine, especially Banarasi and South Indian, from the counters of its food court and rooftop restaurant.
The food court and rooftop restaurant near Ganga view point of Dashaswamedh Bhawan are almost ready, said Suraj Pandey of the group, which operates food court and cafeteria near Ganga Dwar of Kashi Vishwanath Dham before beginning this new venture. The food court and the restaurant both will become operational before the beginning of the auspicious Shravan month starting from July 4, he added.
The second food court after KV Dham’s Amrit Bhawan Jalpan Grih, which will operate near Ganga banks, will be serving Banarasi and south Indian dishes, said Pandey mentioning that other rich cuisine of north India will also be available along with dishes from different states. Apart from Banarasi Chat and Banarasi sweets they will also operate their own bakery to cater fresh bakery items, he added.
Since the holy month of Shravan is about to begin and a large number of pilgrims prefer fasting during pilgrimage, falahari platter and items will also be available for the visitors, he said.
On July 7, 2022, Prime Minister Modi had started Rs 29 crore modern complex Dashaswamedh Bhawan. This property had remained neglected for 33 years at one of the most-visited mythological sites of Kashi at Dashashwamedh area and proved to be a waste property of Varanasi Development Authority (VDA).
As a joint venture of VDA and Varanasi Smart City Limited (VSCL), the newly constructed complex, Dashaswamedh Bhawan, has a beautiful emblem comprising heads of 10 running horses placed at the wall of the main entrance of the complex to signify the mythological importance of place, where as per the legend, Lord Brahma had sacrificed 10 horses during Dasa-Ashwamedha yajna performed here.
Obstructed by litigations following the beginning of its construction in 1986, the long-awaited project of construction of a complex comprising all facilities required for the pilgrims at prime pilgrimage sites, saw the daylight after Chief Minister Yogi Adtiyanath came to power in state in 2017 and ensured clearing of all hurdles. After this, the PM laid its foundation in 2019-20.
On a plot measuring 3082.04 sqmt, the construction of the building with lower ground floor, upper ground floor and first floor has been done in 993 sqmt area. Apart from 186 shops, around 100 toilets, bathrooms, changing rooms, food court and roof-top restaurants were ensured in this complex, where space for a post of NDRF has also been arranged.
VDA’s office in-charge (property) Rajiv Kumar Jaiswal told TOI that allotment of 87 shops has been completed. The rest 99 shops would be allotted through auctioning, he added.
The complex has three escalators and one lift. A Ganga view point at the top floor of the complex will be a major attraction. Funding of Rs 28.69 crores for the project was done by VSCL and a joint special purpose vehicle (SPV) of VDA and VSCL had been formed to bring this complex to life.